Fate Alternate Vision
by Keijon
Summary: Because somebody who shouldn't have, found out about the Holy Grail War, the road it takes is completely altered. With the exception of Saber, all other Servants of the fifth war are replaced. There is also some shuffling around of who gets which Servant. The story follows the game's format of days acting as chapters sort of, they might be split if i feel the chapter gets too big.
1. Prologue

**Right, i almost forgot about it. I certainly don't hold the rights for any characters that appear in Fate/ Stay Night. Also, a few spoilers will appear.**

Ten Years Prior

As the Sacred Church's power in society at large waned, the Executors gained influence within the organization due to their ability of discreetly disposing of enemies without the need of even a kangaroo court. But before their rise, there was a group within the Church whose influence peaked during the inquisitions.

The Witnesses. Their name stems from their alleged ability of, through divine inspiration, witnessing someone's sins without a physical presence. Legends even tell of Witnesses with prophetic powers, sending guards to punish men as they prepared to commit their acts against God. During their height, a person from anywhere that the Sacred Church held influence could be thrown in a dungeon through a simple accusation.

Maybe they were punished for abusing their powers, or perhaps they simply lost their skill the moment that they stopped honing it. Little by little, their powers started to disappear. Yet, they tried their best to maintain themselves in a position of power, they started to train and search all over the world for knowledge and skills for the purpose of spying.

This enabled them to hold some kind of influence inside the Church even as its overt influence in the world waned, but as the focus of the Church seemed to shift to the conflict and coexistence with the Magus' Association, more and more the Witnesses lost ground to the Executors, who were much more skilled in combat and dealing with magic.

Losing ground as operatives to the Executors then, inevitably led to the general decline of the Witnesses. Nowhere else was this more visible than in a traditional Witness household in Spain.

"That bastard! How is it possible?" The patriarch of the house, obviously frustrated throws insults and curses around as he paces the living room. "That damned Kotomine. How come he gets chosen as the supervisor to the Holy Grail War?" That was the fifth time he made that rhetoric question that evening and his family just looks on nervously as before.

"Father, hasn't it been already abundantly clear that it was because of the Command Spell appearing in his son's hand?"

The man glared at his son and responded dryly. "You think I don't know that? And he's even gone as far as teaming up with that Tohsaka Tokiomi. His son is going to learn magic!" He snorted from derision. "What a joke, a priest that knows magic. The both of them should be burned, not given such an important position. Just because we're trying to limit that bloodbath's death count by cooperating with mages doesn't mean we should tolerate such a thing."

He carried on by talking about how they should be even rougher on the Mages to stop absurd things like the Holy Grail Wars. As much as they don't show it, his family feels the same as he did. What was needed was not a soft, but a hard touch to stop such nonsense. There was however, one exception, who didn't really care either way.

The youngest member of the house, eighteen years old, Carmen, was engrossed in her book. Perhaps engrossed would be an understatement. She was the house's hope for revival despite two older sisters and three older brothers, as she seemed to possess some of the abilities that the ancient Witnesses had. She was not reading the story so much as she was living it. She could perfectly visualize the author's vision of the story, no, more than that, it was as if she was ghost, just there beside her beloved characters. She could not help but smile as she read.

"What are you smiling for?" Her father started to shake Carmen. "Don't you realize that this is about you too? You! You would have been the best possible supervisor, none of the Masters would be able to hide a thing from you. At the very least, don't you think it would be more interesting than that stupid book of yours?" But he knew it was useless to say such a thing.

"I'm not interested in smelly magi fighting each other and acting arrogant." She replied in a murmur. To her all mages spent almost all of their time closeted inside their houses researching something and accumulating mold. Well her father didn't really disagree on that point.

Unfortunately, it seemed that for all of the time she spends deeply immersed in the fruit of other people's imagination, Carmen de Castro forgot to develop her own. She was completely unable to see how dangerous and strange magi could be.

"Father, I know it pains you, but leave it to the Kotomines, for all your critics of them, they do seem to have a plan. So please, just forget about it." She stood up from her chair and started to make her way to the bedroom for some privacy.

"Wait, at the very least have you decided to succeed the house and learn more about our craft?" He couldn't force it. He had to convince her.

But it was useless. "My answer hasn't changed." Her ability seemed as much a curse as a blessing. Being able to live almost anything through just reading, she became extremely uninterested in the real thing, but she was still intelligent, and able to learn almost anything that she put her mind to, that's why her father was patient. People can be motivated by the right thing, but they cannot be taught talent.

By the time she put the book down it was past midnight. "Hmm, so interesting, I wonder how can my father be so obsessed with supervising that Holy Grail War thing. I am sure it cannot be any more interesting than this." As she put the book on the bed table she felt a pang on her head. The pain quickly grew from a headache to a migraine. "What is…" She had never felt something like it. Sure, she could remember the discomfort of visualizing events from afar, a sort of clairvoyance. But this was different, she felt much worse. It could only be one thing: The divine foresight that was the most powerful ability a Witness could have.

And so, she started to see many things. Hopes and dreams, drama and tears. People betrayed by their choices and other people. A cruel man whose wish was fulfilled despite losing the war. A knight whose redemption was denied. A man who goes back to his twisted family to save a little girl but fails. Betrayal all around. She saw everything. In the end, there was just a sea of fire.

She changed her mind. Oh yes, the Holy Grail War was so very interesting. There was not much time, so she would just ask for as much training as she could endure and then book a flight to japan. Just to observe it, for now. Just to witness.

* * *

Five years prior

It was not too long after Kiritsugu had died. The mysterious woman called Carmen came looking for him.

"I'm sorry, but he's no longer among us." What else could Shirou say? Somehow she didn't seem all that bothered by it.

"I see." After that she stopped to think for a few moments. "You do know magic, don't you boy?" That took Shirou completely by surprise. He wasn't sure what kind of relationship she with his father, but if she knew about him being a Magus then perhaps it was okay to talk to her about magic.

He told her about how the only thing that he could do was strengthening magic, so he wasn't really much of a Magus. Before he realized it she was laughing. "Hey, why are you laughing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that I've never seen such an honest magus before." She smiled at that, as if she found something interesting. "I'm really tempted to say that you really aren't a magus at all."

"My bad if I'm not really a magus. Hey, is it really that bad?"

The conversation went on in that tone. Shirou even caught himself almost talking about becoming a superhero. The time passed and when he realized it, it was night already. The woman looked outside and looked surprised.

"Oh my, it's already this late. I had planned for a quick conversation with Kiritsugu and then look for somewhere to stay, what shall I do now? My flight is only tomorrow." She didn't suggest it, but Shirou knew what the right thing to do was.

"Well, there are guest rooms in this house; you could stay here for the night." The woman tried to act shocked and refused a few times, but at Shirou's insistence, she acquiesced. He could not simply leave be an acquaintance of Kiritsugu's, no; actually, he couldn't just leave someone like that, even if for something as simple as a one night shelter.

"Well, if you insist, then I can only accept such a favor. I am grateful"

That night Shirou had a dream. It started as his dreams did most of the time, with a great fire, but this time there was something different about it. The fire was gone, in its place a pile of ashes as far as the eye could see, Shirou couldn't understand its meaning.

A shrouded figure appeared. "Emiya Shirou, do you care for other people?" The figure's voice was strange; he couldn't discern whether he was talking with a man or a woman. That didn't matter.

"Of course! I'm going to be just like Kiritsugu and save people." This was a dream, there is no reason to be embarrassed.

"And yet, you lack the power to do such a thing." The voice replies emotionlessly, less as a judgment, more as a fact.

"It doesn't matter, within my power I'll do anything to make the people around me smile. That is all that matters."

"Would you then give up some of your power that you are unable to properly utilize so somebody else can save others?" That was a more complicated question.

Shirou actually never thought about it that way, even though his desire to help others sprang from Kiritsugu he never thought about other people besides him saving people.

"I…" He tried to say something, but he couldn't think of a proper reply, he wasn't sure of what to say.

"Perhaps this question is too much for a boy like you. How about we put it this way: Is humanity so untrustworthy that you can't relinquish part of your power to someone who would use it more efficiently? If that is so, then why save people at all?" The figure just let the question hang.

Touché. The boy felt compelled to answer. "I'll do anything to save people." He gritted his teeth. "If I give up some of my power, I'll just look for more so I can keep saving people." That was his answer.

He couldn't see its face, but the figure seemed to smile, at least it felt like it had. "I see, that's certainly an interesting answer, but now that I have your permission, if you would excuse me…" The figure raised its hand in Shirou's direction.

Something started to glow in his chest and he felt something strange. A strange heat. An intense pain followed, as if something was being ripped from him, he tried to shout, but he couldn't. It was just a dram, just a dream.

As fast as it came, the pain was gone. "There we go." Something was in the figure's hands, a sheath, maybe the most beautiful he had ever seen.

"What is…?" The figure stopped him by putting its hands on his lips and shushing.

"Don't worry boy, and just go to sleep now." There the dream ended and he forgot about it in the morning.

The woman was leaving right after breakfast. She kept thanking him for the hospitality, saying that she as not sure how she could repay it.

"Wait, I think I know. Wait a moment." She murmured something and a light appeared in her chest. From an elaborate and probably quite old saddle emerged. "Here, a good luck charm." She handed him the saddle.

Shirou heard from his father about Mystic codes, when mages kept some of their most precious belonging as a concept inside of themselves. If she kept it in such a way, then that saddle was likely extremely valuable. "No, I couldn't accept such a thing from so little."

"No, I insist!" She approached her face to him and he blushed, averting his gaze. "I think I received more than enough compensation for it." Was she talking about him telling her his magic? Sure that should usually be a big deal, but he knew so little. "Also, when you forced on me the hospitality of your home, wouldn't it be rude not to accept my gift even if you think it's not equal in value?" She got him.

"I… Fine, but I don't know if I'll know how to take care of or use it."

"Don't worry; it will take care of you. Farewell, until we meet again."

Shirou wasn't sure of the meaning behind it all, but he was sure that visit was not a bad thing.

* * *

A few months prior

In a small house in London, not too far from the Clock Tower, a single man sat alone in his workshop feverishly researching something in the afternoon.

Why did his family start the pursuit of something like that? Perhaps it started as mere curiosity, maybe the experiment for a more important research needed more magical energy than usual. Whatever was the motive, there is only one research that dominated the Feuerbach family for the last hundred years or so: The creation of an artificial Magic Circuit to generate magical energy outside of a person.

"Come on you bastard, work this time!" He looked at the mass of cables made of different materials in front of him. Usually they either did nothing or exploded in his face. He wasn't sure which result he preferred, as the first represented an absolute failure and the latter wasn't much better while also being much more dangerous and a problem to clean up afterwards.

The vanadium steel alloy cable started to glow. "Oh no, you won't you bastard, I had too much work to make you." Frederick scrambled to the switch to stop the flow of magic in the cable but he was too late. He had seen that glow so many times, yet he could never stop the subsequent fire.

"Maybe I just shouldn't try so many different kinds of alloys at the same time… No, if I don't test at least at this rhythm, my grandson will be doing the exact same kind of experiments." The most vexing part of his family's pursuit was that: Ever since they started it they were never able to find something that could sustain a constant flow of magical energy for extended amounts of time.

"Perhaps I should try different kinds of gems…" No, despite their usefulness as a method of storing magical energy, gems rarely resist a constant flow, not to speak of their prices. As much as he feels like he is burning money with his different alloys, he would be broke within months if he started including gems in his research.

While he thought about what he could change in his experiments another cable started to glow, but this it exploded with a big bang.

"God damn it! You fucking bastards!" Thus he started his almost daily ritual of hitting the main switch, cutting the flow to all cables, and spending a good few minutes cursing. "Why can't a single freaking one of you support magic flow without a soul to regulate it, huh?" He flipped one of the few tables set for that exact purpose. He stared at it for a good few seconds still.

"Chaos without order." He felt the magic rush in as he turned on his magic circuits. "Scatter." The table seemed to explode, with splinters of wood flying everywhere. There was something relaxing about intentional explosions, which made him not mind the unintentional ones too much. Not that what he had just done was really an explosion.

It wasn't until a few moments after he took a deep breath that he realized something: Someone was ringing the bell.

"Ugh, what is it now? I hope it's not students again looking for stupid tips. Damn, I should have never given those few lectures."

As he approaches the door a powerful smell of rotten meat assails his nostrils. "Holy… Who the hell died in front of my house?" He mutters under his breath.

Frederick unlocks the door while leaving it chained and opens it up a little. "Who are you and do you have any business with me?" In front of him is a bald old man and a boy. _Oh no, don't tell me he's going to ask me to make his grandson my apprentice or something._

His luck was in. "Let's see, is it here where the specialist in Magic Circuits live?" That was a good sign, people who inquired about his Magic Circuit research rarely wanted any sort of instruction on it.

"I'm asking again, who are you and, wait, it seems you do have business with me, but still. What business do you have with me?" He still talks surly. It is his home after all; visitors should state their names and intentions first.

"Fine. I am Matou Zouken, this is my grandson, Matou Shinji. We are here because we heard about your technique of inserting an artificial Magic Circuit in a person." That's what he wanted, would it have been so hard to answer so the first time he asked?

Still, Frederick raised his eyebrows, that was strange, he could not remember telling anyone about his experiments of putting some of his failed artificial circuits in people to see what would happen, especially since most of them were not willing.

"Well, now that's a business I did not expect. Come on in, let us talk about this inside." He unchained the door and let the visitors in, the smell got worse.

While his visitors sat in the living room, Frederick quickly filled three cups with the coffee he always left handy. He drank his coffee in one gulp and left the others in from of his visitors.

"Matou, huh, I'm pretty sure I've heard that name somewhere, but it doesn't matter now." The old man seemed about to speak when Frederick gestured that an explanation was unnecessary. "I won't ask you where or from whom you heard about this, but yes, I have dabbled in implanting artificial Magic Circuits in people."

He sighed, trying to recollect the details. "However, there were a slew of reasons why I stopped it. First: It was not my main focus of research. Second: Its success rate is quite low. Third: The pain it causes seems to drive crazy even those cases of success. So, the first question is: Are you prepared to go ahead while knowing of the second and third reasons?"

The old man and boy whispered for a bit. The boy seemed clearly afraid and didn't seem really willing to ahead with it, but the old man said something that disturbed him and in the end the old man answered. "Yes."

"Okay, good. Now, the second and most important question to me: Why? Sure, I might need more money for my research, but nothing is more valuable than information."

The old man chuckled. "Hehe, you're a cunning man, aren't you. But too bad, there isn't an ulterior motive, I just wish to be able to pass magic to my grandson, who unfortunately was born without Magic Circuits."

"Bullshit." He did not let the man reply. "Look at how old he is, if you had the intention of teaching him anything from the start you would have appeared before me earlier." He stood up. "Well, if you're not going to talk to me honestly…"

For a moment, the boy's face showed relief mixed with disappointment, but it quickly changed. "Fine, let us talk, I will be frank with you."

"I'm listening."

Frederick couldn't help but feel good about his day when it was all said and done. In the end, it was just useless to compare Magi to people in the streets, that boy was more resilient than he seemed and despite leaving Frederick's house in a wheelchair, which he would probably need for a while, he took in three artificial circuits. On top of that, he even stopped screaming after a few hours.

"Anyway, Holy Grail War, huh." He was sure he heard someone talking about it before, but quite honestly he had no need for an omnipotent device that can grant any wish. "Then there's no meaning to it."

Still, there was one aspect of it that interested him. "Summoning heroic spirits… I wonder if I would be able to summon that guy. My grandfather always used to tell about how if he could have worked alongside that guy, he would have found the answer."

He couldn't help but smile. "Well, at the very least it would be a great break from just exploding cables. How much is an air ticket to Japan again?"

* * *

Prologue

It is almost time. Tohsaka Rin looks at the clock once more, only ten more minutes until her power peaks, then she will summon the strongest Servant. She closes her eye and takes a deep breath, when her concentration is broken.

Someone is ringing the bell, repeatedly. What is she going to do? She can't let the time of the summoning pass like this, but then again, she can't concentrate on it if the bell keeps ringing. She decides to just send away as quickly as possible whoever it is.

She tries to keep as much composure as possible as she opens the door. "Yes? Do you have any business with me?" As she sees who is standing in front of her, her efforts to keep calm redouble.

The man was wearing a quite out of fashion suit, probably from around the end of the 19th century. His size was slightly less than average, he was holding a pocket watch held by a chain. If it was all, she could have just dismissed him as a lunatic, but there was something dangerous about him, some kind of power. That man was a Servant.

"Tohsaka Rin, yes? I have quite a good offer for you." He was smiling like a salesman about to make a killer-deal.

This was bad, she still didn't have her Servant so she couldn't make a wrong move. "So, already starting to eliminate the possible competition, huh? I'm not retiring even before the fight begins." At least she was in her own home, in this condition she might be able to trap him long enough to run away. The problem was, to where?

"Heavens, no!" The Servant put his hands in the air as if protecting himself from an accusation. "I have been called heartless plenty of times, but it was not because I killed anyone who couldn't defend himself."

"What are you here for, then?" Rin still wasn't convinced and was still looking around for the best way to flee if he attacked.

"I've already told you, it's about a very good offer, in fact, it's almost highway robbery I daresay! And the one being robbed here isn't you." After saying that, the Servant fetches a suitcase that was next to him and opens it in front of Rin.

Rin mentally prepares a defensive spell, but all that happens is that she can see what is inside the suitcase. Her jaw drops. "What is it that you're, no, your Master is planning?"

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Inside is a sheath, mostly blue, with many details in gold. Neither of them knows exactly which, but both know that it is an extremely powerful artifact, which will probably bring forth the strongest Servant in this war.

"Why are you showing me this?"

The Servant merely smiles and holds up an open hand. "Five of your most powerful jewels." It's all he says.

Rin is dumfounded. He was going to sell her such a priceless thing? Even if it is for such… expensive, jewels, to sell something like that was almost insane. She replies without thinking. "Three."

The Servant smiles, it looks like he enjoys haggling prices.

As they finish and the Servant is ready to leave Rin realizes something. "What are you going to do with those jewels?" It's not like he would be able to absorb their energy.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot disclose this information." He looked at his watch. "Oh, look at the time, half past one in the morning, I must be going."

_Half past one, how can it be…_ Then she remembered that all clocks in her house were one hour early. If she had gone ahead with the summoning, a disaster could have happened. _Wait, could he have… No, it was not possible._

She still had her doubts, but she was sure that the sheath was not counterfeit. What was that Servant doing, giving her the key to summon the most powerful Servant, Saber?

It was a greenish dark place, the same place where Servants were summoned by the Matou family and the successor's throat got hoarse from screaming.

Matou Shinji was vomiting blood, but it had nothing to do with where he was. The implantation was a success, but the burden put on his body by the artificial circuits was too great, yet it did not matter, he had succeeded in summoning a Servant and the Command Spell was in his hand.

"Haha, I've…" He tried to speak but vomited some more blood.

"Ha! What a pathetic sight. You remind me of your uncle Kariya, but at least he ended up the way he did for the benefit of others." Matou Zouken looked uninterestedly at the suffering of his grandson. "And this Servant, I should have known something like that would happen. Just try not to lose too pathetically, Shinji."

As he turned his back, a click could be heard. The Servant was holding an old pistol in its hand. "I don't care about your relationship, but don't think you can just insult my Master like this."

Matou Zouken laughed. "Oh my, you seem lively for a Fictional Hero; it seems those implants weren't a complete failure." He continued to leave the room.

At the very least, the artificial circuits were enough to draw the Command Spell away from the piece that he did not want to use in this war. And who knows what might happen? Kariya lasted much longer than Zouken thought he would, perhaps his nephew would should as much endurance, if nothing else.

Shinji was finally recovering. "What? What was that about my uncle?" The Servant helped him get on his feet. "Well, it doesn't matter for now."

"Master, I am the Servant Assassin. My weapons are at your disposal." Shinji smiled satisfied, yes, this was his servant, moo me else's.

"Yes, let's see how good we are. We are going to win this war."

The Fuyuki city electric substation seemed like an abandoned building, as if something was wrong. "Is this place okay, Caster?" Two men walked inside it unconcerned, as if the ambient was of their making.

"Yes, this place is fine. We should be able to finish our research here without any problems."

"But, this really isn't near any ley-line or anything, how are we going to gather Magical Energy here?"

Caster put a finger on his lips, as if shushing his Master. "Frederick, ley-lines aren't the only thing that can transfer power. All you need is an appropriate structure. Don't worry about it."

Both men set about building the workshop inside the substation.


	2. 3rd Day part 1

**The main reason that i'm starting the story in the 3rd day is that the first 2 felt like too much about exposition and explaining the story's setup, things which i felt should be unnecessary for the story.**

3rd Day – Part 1 – Meetings

He is in a fire. It was as if he had gone back in time. Once again, Emiya Shirou was in that sea of fire, that bottomless pit of despair. All he has to do is endure, as he will eventually wake up, but it's still a disturbing vision. He feels as if he's going to suffocate, he is at his limit when something happens again.

Again? Yes, once before the fire in his dream simply disappeared without trace, in its place was something else. A pile of ash. Ash as far as the eye can see. And a figure in the middle of it.

"Are you ready to be a Hero of Justice?" He feels like he was asked this once before, but this time the dream simply ends before he can reply.

As usual, he wakes up and has breakfast with Sakura and Fuji-nee. Nothing's really different from always, but somehow he feels some kind of uneasiness. Was it because of the weird ending of his dream? Then he immediately thinks it strange. _Was there even a strange ending to my dream?_ It was all kind of fuzzy, so he simply ignores it.

On the way to school, Sakura noticed a strange wound in his hand, but he doesn't feel anything. Surely he just cut it somewhere. It certainly couldn't have any deeper meaning, was what he told himself, so he just went on and shook his feeling of uneasiness.

As he arrived at school, he thought himself even more vindicated. _There's nothing wrong, I can't even feel anything strange, so there should be nothing going on. _So why didthey feel like such empty words?

* * *

_This is the way that things should be._ Shirou thinks to himself as he packs up and leaves his classroom after helping Issei. Then he bumped into Shinji.

"Agh, watch where you're walking!" Now that he thought about it, lately Shinji has seemed strange, almost as if something was ailing him. Actually, now that Shirou took a really good look at him, Shinji looked quite pale. He might have talked like that, but the truth was that he had just used Shirou as a support not to fall.

Shirou suppressed any annoyance he felt at the way Shinji talked and said, genuinely concerned. "Hey, Shinji, you okay?" The response was almost too obvious.

"Am I okay? Of course I am okay!" He should have expected it, Shirou was ready to argue about it when Shinji seemed to realize something and completely reversed. "No, actually, I'm not okay."

"Huh?" Now that was unexpected.

"You see, I'm not feeling very well right now. But I was still supposed to take care of a few things in the club room." Somehow he managed to make it sound like he was doing Shirou a favor by telling him that. "So, someone like good-boy-Emiya, who always goes around repairing things at school, wouldn't let poor old sick me do all these chores, right?"

Shirou couldn't help but feel frustrated. _No, there is no need for frustration. _It might be Shinji, and it might feel like he's being manipulated, but Shirou just can't turn down a favor for someone looking like that. _Did Shinji catch a cold or something? _It didn't matter.

"Fine, I'll do it for you. Just make sure to have plenty of rest, you really don't look good."

"Yeah, yeah. Then, I'm counting on you." As always, he didn't sound thankful at all.

* * *

Tohsaka Rin couldn't help but feel some sort of relief after finding out exactly what it was that she had found in the school's roof earlier: Some sort of magical mine, so skillfully made that she was only able to detect it after getting close.

There were a few good things about it and a few bad things about it. Its structure and probable radius effect being the whole school, it was probably the only one made. However, Rin could only bite her lip in frustration as she realized that if the Magus that set this up wanted it so, she would be dead. It wasn't proximity activated. _Well, at least I would have been the only one killed in tats case. _

Still, she needed a lot of concentration to disarm it without blowing up the whole school. She looked at the knight next to her, who was looking around nervously. "Saber, I'm going to need at least a minute alone to take care of this, don't let distractions interfere with this." The knight nodded.

"Distractions, huh. You talking about me?" Good thing she still hadn't started. That was exactly what she meant.

The owner of the voice was squatting in the roof's rail. Rin immediately realized he was a Servant. _Ugh, what is this?_ He seemed to be wearing nothing but a helmet she was sure she had seen before in an ancient Greece documentary and a red cape. It was dark and she really didn't feel like taking a good look to see whether or not he was naked besides that.

Wordlessly, Saber charged at him. "Hey, hey, nothing to say before we start?" The Servant defended with his round shield but still feel to the ground level alongside Saber.

_Good one, Saber! I'll be along just as soon as I finish this here. _It took a little longer than she realized.

By the time Rin got there, Saber and the Servant seemed more intent on gauging each other and look for possible opening than exchanging blows. They were less than ten meters apart.

"That's impressive, Lancer, I'm quite sure I have never seen a warrior with such an extraordinary defensive and counter-attacking technique." That certainly explained how the battle seemed stalled.

"Ha! The only flattery I need is your blood on my spear, Saber. Landing a blow on a warrior of your caliber would be the greatest testament to my ability this fight could show." He carefully approached, a small pace at a time, shield at the ready, lance over it.

"Well, this is flattery that I can't willingly give!" Saber charged in and sidestepped the piercing attack. However, she could find no opening as the shield protected most of Lancer's body, so she had no angle.

Lancer adjusted his position with one step and tried to pierce saber again, but this time his spear was parried. Saber tried to make an opening, but was mercilessly pushed by Lancer's shield.

She had no choice but to jump back, as if she insisted she would probably have lost her balance and been a victim of Lancer's spear.

"Very good, for a woman. It's been long since I fought anything but trash. But then again, trash in enough numbers can be good discipline training." Saber glared at being called a woman, but kept her stance. "Oh? You don't like to have your gender pointed out, eh? That's good. Then prove it to me that women are good for more than birthing warriors."

He assumed a different stance. His shield was positioned more to the side, as if Lancer was protecting someone other than himself. A huge amount of magical energy started to accumulate in both the shield and spear, but the bulk of it seemed directed to the shield.

_Oh, so that's why he's provoking Saber, his Noble Phantasm is of the defensive kind, probably a counter of some sort. _In which case, Rin shouldn't let Saber attack carelessly.

"Saber, don't let him provoke you."

"I know, Rin. I won't attack unless I can be sure to at least avoid his counter." Still, there was something in her eyes that showed something more dangerous than her falling for his provocation: The excitement of fighting a worthy opponent.

Lancer seemed a bit disappointed. "What? You're not coming? Fine, I'll just have to walk to you, let's see how long you can endure fleeing from a walking enemy." And he started walking, an ominous walk, which seemed more unstoppable than many charges.

_This is bad. _Rin had a feeling that Saber would eventually feel compelled to challenge it, her honor as a knight made sure of it, such a pure frontal challenge of might. So she had to defuse the situation somehow. If she ordered Saber to prepare her Noble Phantasm, would Lancer back down? No, probably not, that might be his objective in the first place, but would she have a chance with a regular attack? She does have her sheath, no, at the moment it was with Rin, and the moment that Lancer gets to Saber, it probably wouldn't end with just one attack. So she had to do something, maybe order a retreat with the Command Spell? Think. Think!

"Who's there?" Something, no, someone distracted Lancer, but it was enough to defuse his Noble Phantasm. _Thank goodness. _Saber jumped at the opportunity, but despite his awkward stance for the situation, Lancer defended himself just fine.

_Wait, that's not the time to feel relief. _Whoever it was, that person was just a witness to the fight between two Servants. That person just witnessed magic. Rin bit her lip as she remember the rules of Magi, but she couldn't stay there, first she had to go after that person.

Rin started to run at the direction where the sound came from, but Saber kept attacking Lancer to keep him at bay. "Hey, Saber, you sure you can just let your master be? The third one that was watching is sure to be angry at having lost the chance to see my Noble Phantasm."

Saber glared back at him. "I would if I had the luxury of not paying attention to you." Surprisingly, Lancer answered by jumping back and relaxing his stance.

"Well, to be honest, this helps me as well. You see, my Master just want to gauge the other Servants and it would trouble me if you simply disappeared because your Master got killed. Go on and protect the little girl."

Saber sees that Lancer is honest and lowers her stance as well. "I thank you, Lancer. Let us meet in battle again." She heads to the school building, where she feels her Master is.

"Yeah, yeah, just go. Still, what a tough little girl. I bet she would be able to give birth to a great warrior. Ha! Look at me, thinking about such things when all I came for was to battle. Well, no reason to go easy on her." Lancer laughed to himself a bit.

* * *

_What was that? What the hell was going on? _Shirou couldn't help but be fascinated by that fight. However, they saw him; they know he was there, so he could do nothing else but keep running.

He kept running until he ran into someone else, falling on his butt. "Ouch, what is someone doing here at this…?" He grumbled until he realized what the person in front of him was.

Strange clothes, a menacing aura. There was no doubt about it, the person in front of him was the same as the others in the school ground. _What is going on?_

The man smiled and bowed. "Servant Archer, at your service, I would tell you my real name, but I'm afraid it might not be of much use to you."

"What?" Shirou was still trying to understand what was going on when something landed on his lap. _Combat first-aid? _Why would he be given such a thing?

The man who called himself Archer shrugged. "Yes, confusing, but you see, orders are orders. It's one-time only, but it should keep you alive a little longer. And who knows, if someone pumps you full of magic you might not even die from this." He held an old six-chamber revolver in his hand.

It was then that Shirou understood. He was going to be shot. Then, he would die. There was nothing he could do about it. But was there really nothing? Was he going to just be shot like this? If so, why would the enemy bother to give him…

Emiya Shirou never got to finish that thought, as everything became numb as the bullet pierced his heart and disappeared, just like magic. _So this is how it ends. _Should have been his last thought.

* * *

He was sure that he heard a voice. Something about going after whoever it was, then something about why did it have to be him. Perhaps it was all just his imagination.

As he woke up, it all had seemed even more of a dream for Emiya Shirou; however it was all too real considering he was still in the middle of the school's corridor and there was a stain of blood, his blood.

In a daze, he cleaned everything and went home, but somewhere in the process, he saw something else. A necklace. _What am I doing?_ He might question himself, but there was really nothing else he could do. If he only went home and had a good night's sleep, perhaps this would all prove to be just a dream. He grabbed the necklace and went his way.

No, there is no way it would turn out to be just a dream. That pain, that feeling of a bullet piercing his heart… He would never be able to dream of such a thing.

Dying was such a strange sensation. He was sure he was dead, but how is he alive right now? "Oh, he said something about something…" No use, his mind was too dizzy.

As he got home, it all he could do to simply collapse in the living room, nobody would blame him if he just slept there, right? After all he had just come back from the brink of death. He just needed to rest a bit. There was nothing wrong with just lying there for a while.

As the time passed, Shirou started to think a little clearer. "He did say something about someone pumping me with magic." Perhaps it had something to do with the necklace he found and took with him. So someone saved him, huh. He wondered who it was.

The pain came back, Shirou groaned for a few moments, then realized that he had no time for that. CLANG! The bell from the ceiling rings was alerting him to an intruder.

Quickly he looked for something to use as a weapon, the closest thing that he found was the poster that Fuji-nee used to attack him earlier. Diving for it, he started the only magic he could perform. "Trace, on." Soon, it was much stronger than it appeared, and Shirou readied himself for the enemy.

And he waited.

And he waited.

And he waited.

And he waited.

"What is going on?" It seemed like an eternity and nobody attacked him, Shirou almost felt his tension melting. But he couldn't afford to let his guard down. If it was the same enemy as in the school, he knew one moment of carelessness could mean death.

He carefully looked around the house but found nobody, so there were only two places the enemy could be. As he stepped outside, it felt too obvious, the shed's light was on. As he carefully approached, he could hear sounds coming from its inside.

Eventually, the irritation of having his place so shamelessly rummaged through overcame his fear and he stomped inside the shed, poster in hand. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, there you are boy; look at this, this just awesome. My instincts never let me down when I have to find stuff like this."

"Huh?" The man who had just shot Shirou not too long ago seemed like a little child that had just found a new toy. In one of his hands he had a bullet, in the other a small case.

"I've never seen a bullet that felt quite like this. Some sort of custom-made ammunition? This is just fascinating. Too bad only four of these are usable. Though I guess I'll take them all to analyze what they are made of. What?" Shirou just stood there dumbfounded.

Whatever mission the man originally had, such as killing Shirou, he seemed to have completely forgotten it over this case of bullets. It didn't matter, it was only to easy to deduce who this case belonged to: Kiritsugu.

His irritation intensified even more. "You can't have it."

"Huh?" Archer looked like he couldn't believe that the boy he had just shot not so long ago could talk back like that.

"I said: You can't have it!" This was something precious that Kiritsugu left behind, as if Shirou would just let it be taken away.

"It looks like someone here really doesn't want to make it through the night." He put the bullet back into the case and put his hand in a strange portal in the air, a gun came out with it. "You know, I was going to give you a chance to live. Just play a couple rounds of Russian roulette and then let you go. But you see, this gun here doesn't have multiple chambers to play Russian roulette with, too bad." He pointed the gun at Shirou.

Shirou just charged at him. It didn't bother him anymore that he would die. All he could think about as saving the case of bullets, which Kiritsugu left behind.

When he realized it, he was looking at the shed's ceiling. _That's strange, I don't remember being shot._ Which is because he was not.

"What?" He could not understand why he just saw Archer being thrown. Archer fell outside the shed.

Shirou looked at where Archer was standing before; as he did a completely different scene was before his eyes.

She had a long, deeply dark hair, it made a good contrast with her pale face, which seemed full of devotion. She wore a warrior's armor, but not any kind of warrior. It was a light armor, suitable for a person concerned with their mobility and that of her mount. Shirou wasn't too sure, but if one word suited her, it was beautiful. Maybe it did not do her enough justice, but he thought that this was the closed word he could find.

"Are you the one to be my master?" Shirou just sat there taken aback by her and did not find an answer. "It seems the time is not right."

She looked in the direction of the shed's exit, near which Archer was composing himself. She started to make her way there when Shirou finally found an answer.

"Wait." She stopped for a moment. "Are you an ally? Or a foe?"

"You might never really accept me as an ally. But at the very least, I'm sure I am not your enemy." She stepped outside to confront Archer. He had a dissatisfied look on his face.

"Damn. Well, this is within what my Master told me should happen. Anyway." He stopped for a moment. "Rider, yes? Would you be so kind as to simply let me make my retreat now?" Her reply was to drawn a bow faster than humanly possible and shoot at him. "Hey, hey, a bow? I'm the archer here… technically."

Archer kept defending from the constant stream of arrows aimed at him with a rifle armed with a bayonet. He still had the case in his left hand. Meanwhile, he kept moving closer to the wall. When he got close enough…

"You bastard, I'm not letting you get away after you tried to kill my Master." She jumped over the wall to go after him.

Shirou finally recovered himself and stepped outside the shed. He could hear sounds of fighting outside. "What is going on, exactly?" He walked to the gate and slowly opened it. As he stepped outside, he saw a confused looking Tohsaka Rin.

They looked at each other for a few moments, and then Rin said "Greetings, Emiya-kun." As if they had just meet in a normal situation.

It took him a few moments more, but Shirou replied. "Oh, yeah, hello Tohsaka."


	3. 3rd Day part 2

3rd day – Part 2 - Cooperation

As he jumped over the wall, Archer wasn't really surprised by the presence of the knight of the sword in blue and her Master. _Well, Master told me not to kill unnecessarily this early, but I don't want to lose these to escape. _Fighting using one hand was complicated, but at that moment he had the advantage of expecting the enemy when they didn't expect him. They weren't too far apart, so the knight could easily protect her Master, but Archer could easily make her have to pay an arm or two for that.

He readied his weapon, an old rifle, but because it was his, was much better than any present-time weapon. _Heh, not that it is my best, or only one. _Portals appeared behind him and the muzzles of different weapons appeared. Even if Saber blocked them, the ensuing opening would be enough for Archer to finish either of them. He briefly saw the terror on the knight's face as she realized what was about to happen. He smiled. She knew she wouldn't be able to block every one of the bullets

Next thing he knew, he was fallen on the ground and feeling like he should have broken something. "Ouch, damn that woman she ruined it. Good thing I have my custom-made bod-armor." An arrow was next to him as proof of who ruined his surprise attack.

Nearby, Saber and Rider were staring at each other, as if to decide whether to go after Archer or fight amongst themselves. Saber was the first to talk.

"I thank you, for saving my Master's life."

"Hah! It's not like it was my intention, but if you're really thankful, then just disappear and let me end the life of the cur who went after my Master's life." Rider replied with an air of superiority.

"That would be problematic for me, since he has also threatened my Master. I must decline your request." Saber stated flatly.

_Huh, not good, looks like they're concentrated on putting me under._ Archer tried move.

An arrow almost got him. "You just stand there while we discuss just what to do with you!"

"I agree."

_What is this? Some kind of joke? It looks like they are getting along somehow. Who the hell would wait… Master might get angry because I wasn't supposed to use that much energy, but I guess I don't have a choice left._

"How about this, Saber, let's play a little game of catch with him." Saber nodded in agreement and they both turned to him.

"Huh? Look ladies, I don't think catch is the proper… Whoa!" Name of what you're proposing. Was what he was going to say before diving for his life. "Fine, have it your way, I'm leaving." There was a surge of magic and a military-issue, open jeep sprang from the ground under Archer. Its wheels screeched as it accelerated as fast as possible. "Goodbye ladies!"

Rider was smiling. "Well now, just became much more interesting." She snapped her finger and two warhorses appeared; one next to her and one next to Saber. She quickly mounted hers. "What, you're not coming?"

Saber frowned and hesitated for a moment. "I can't accept it."

Rider shrugged. "It's your choice, but I'm just lending it to you for our game, wouldn't it be unfair if you were the only one on foot?"

Archer let out a sigh of relief after not seeing Rider come for him immediately. "Well, that was easy." He immediately regretted those words. He saw two people through the rearview mirror. "Oh god, why? Why are both of them coming?" It should have been obvious if he thought about it, both of them were quite intent on offing him, the "game" was probably a way for them to cooperate without saying it out loud. "Damn, ladies, control yourselves, please!" An arrow whistled past him and lodged itself in the window. _Not good._

The jeep suddenly turned left. _Come on you stupid horses, stumble! _But it was just wishful thinking. Saber and Rider were still gaining ground on him. _What are those horses made of? _He threw quite a few grenades, which were always eerily evaded by the horses. With the explosions behind them, Saber and Rider continued to close the distance. _Not hit even by the shrapnel, huh. Quite the impressive riding._

"Give up, you cannot run away." As she approached from the left, Saber readied her invisible sword for a swing. She would probably aim for the wheel.

"No, don't give up, the target practice is fun." Archer had to duck to not get pierced in the neck. He gritted his teeth.

_What am I going to do about this? I don't have to hold the wheel, but I still have to know where I'm going. The most attention I can spare is looking in the rearview mirror and dodging Rider's arrows, so I don't really have the luxury of aiming anything at them to shake them off. This is fine for now because she's aiming for me, but when she starts going for the wheels, I'm certain to lose ground to Saber, and if she jumps aboard, it's all over. Damn, they're too close, can't afford to use anything explosive._ Suddenly, he saw something that made all of this consideration useless.

"Oh, you damned bastard, now I don't have a choice, my Master will really be very angry with me." As he was headed for Shinto, he had to use the bridge eventually. A single Servant was smiling in the bridge, happy that his bet paid off. He thought of doing it in the last moment to make Saber and Rider crash, but he didn't like the possibility of getting caught up in that Noble Phantasm.

Rider finally got tired of playing with Archer. She readied an arrow aimed at the wheel when something strange happened. "What the?" As Archer jumped, Rider almost immediately changed her aim to him, but something seemed wrong. Next to her Saber also seemed to feel a sort of uneasiness. "Jump!"

Everything happened at the same time: "Rider and Saber jumped from their horses, Archer summoned a jet fighter under him to escape and Lancer shouted. "Spartan Phalanx!"

It was as if the jeep had hit an invisible wall. It ricocheted back with a crashing sound and overturned. Rider and Saber watched in awe as what seemed like a line of warriors next to Lancer performed the second step of the Noble Phantasm. The jeep was skewered and shattered into numerous pieces. Rider had to draw her scimitar to defend from the fragments.

Saber stepped up undaunted and spoke, without a tone of fear in her voice. "That was a truly impressive Noble Phantasm you just showed us, King of Warriors, Leonidas!" She pointed her invisible sword at him. "But you let our prey go, how would you intend to recompense us?" Rider stayed silent.

"By reminding you that leaving your Master unprotected is not very wise and, while you might eventually succeed, taking me down would be no easy task, even if there are two of you." Saber bit her lip in vexation, he was right, he was an opponent quite unlike Archer, with much more defensive capabilities.

Rider also had something to say. "Are you fine with this, then, King of Warriors? You just revealed your true name and Noble Phantasm to three enemies with nothing to show for it. Will you simply retreat now?"

Lancer sighed and shrugged as if there was nothing he could do. "Why, sure. Even if I might last a while, my chances aren't very good against the both of you. I expected Archer to be more of a gambler, but he alerted you two too soon. I should just cut my losses and leave." He emanated no hostility, so both Rider and Saber could see he was being honest. They nodded and turned around.

As the wreckage disappeared as Archer willed and the Servants left it, moments later the bridge was deserted and looked as if nothing had happened there.

Both saber and Rider ran silently back to the Emiya household. Even though they no longer had the common objective of defeating Archer, they both felt it would not be honorable to attack each other for the moment, considering their recent cooperation. Still, they did not talk with each other, as they were enemies after all.

* * *

Shirou was still trying to understand what Tohsaka was talking about when the two Servants arrived. Masters, seven different classes of Servants, an omnipotent device capable of granting any wish? How could he just accept that? But he had to, as it was the only explanation for the existence of the two Women who had silently arrived.

"Oh, so you're talking with Rider's master, Rin." She seemed more relaxed after that. It seemed she did not wish to fight just then with Rider.

"It is good to see that the both of you are on good terms for now. Neither of us want a victory predicated on the other's loss of Master." Rider added in an honest tone.

"W-who said we were on good terms? I'm just explaining things to Emiya-kun because his Servant helped me. Since he seems like a no-good Magus who doesn't understand what's going on, I have to explain things to him thoroughly, besides as I've already told you, I owe him one. That's all." Shirou felt slightly confused. _Why is she looking away? _"Anyway, let's can go to the church in Shinto so Shirou can have things more properly explained to him."

Rider and Saber shared a look of concern for a moment, but they booth nodded. There was no way that Lancer would mount another ambush at the bridge, the way was most probably safe.

* * *

As he exited the church, Shirou was both relieved and angry. Both feelings were brought about by his clearer understanding of what the Holy Grail War really meant. Besides, there was something about that priest that he just couldn't like. "Rejoice, young man, your wish was granted." The way he said it sounded like Shirou really wished for such a thing, in order to become a Hero of Justice.

However, there were still things he did not quite understand about Servants. "Tohsaka, you said the Servants were kinds of spirits, right?"

"Eh? Yes, why?"

"I was just thinking, if they are spirits then why are they following us just like people would do, I mean, are they sort of, permanently solid? You understand what I'm trying to ask, right?" He wasn't sure how to go about asking that question, he didn't want to be offensive.

"W-well, you see, normally…" She looked away awkwardly. "The thing is, I think I may have messed something up during the summoning…" Tohsaka admitting a mistake? "So Saber can't go into Spirit Form, unfortunately." Tohsaka blushed as if it was a great shame. "Anyway, don't get too chummy with me. Why are you still asking questions? This truce is for tonight only, you know."

_I wonder if Rider can, my summoning didn't look too good. Actually, did I even really perform a summoning?_ He was about to ask Rider when the four of them were stopped by an ominous presence.

"Good evening." The voice belongs to a little girl in front of them. Behind her is a man who can be nothing else but a Servant.

He was very tall, taller than anyone Shirou had ever seen in person, probably a little over two meters. His appearance evoked that of those legendary warriors of northern Europe who, taken by the fever of battle, fought more fiercely than any others. If Shirou remember correctly the seven classes… That was definitely Berserker.

It seemed he was right, as Tohsaka murmurs. "Berserker…"

"Master, careful!" Rider stepped in front of him just as Saber did the same for Rin.

"You know, even if you try to protect Onii-chan, Rider, it's useless, because you will all die here." The girl states it simply as if it was a foregone conclusion. She curtsied. "I am Ilyasviel von Einzbern, please die now." There is no time to reply as Berserker jumps as soon as the word 'die' is uttered.

"Rider, please!" As soon as Saber says it, Rider nods and grabs both Shirou and Rin by their clothes, immediately jumping back. Saber met the advancing Berserker, clashing her sword with his fist. The sidewalk cracked a little under her feet.

"Ugh, why me too?" Rin whined as she was pulled alongside Shirou.

"We might be companions of battle for this night only, but for that one night I intend to lend her as much help as my Master allows. I expect the same treatment from your side." Rider spoke plainly as she retreated.

When she felt it was far enough, Rider let go of Shirou and Rin, summoning one of her warhorses once again. She mounted it.

"Wait, are you just going back like that, without a plan?" Rin asked frantically. Even if it was two against one, she seemed afraid of the crazed warrior. "His strength is completely absurd!"

"Don't worry, Saber's Master, with my support, there is no way Saber wouldn't triumph over Berserker. The Master of Einzbern chose her opponents wrongly." Having said that, she rode back to the fight.

"Tohsaka, you sure this is fine?" He couldn't explain why, but Shirou agreed with Rin, they shouldn't engage in battle with that without thinking things over.

"I'm sure it's not, I have a bad feeling about this." Rin clicked her tongue in frustration. "We have to think of something, but we can't approach carelessly."

* * *

Despite that show of confidence, Rider could not help but feel nervous against Berserker. He was the only opponent on which her trump card would have no effect. But then again, she could not afford to use her trump card often, she couldn't feel any magic flowing into her from her Master. _That's going to be problematic._

When she arrived she saw Berserker's and Saber's swords clashing. _Wait, was he using a sword before?_ Rider shook her head, this was inconsequential. She drew her bow and circled them, releasing the arrow from the side.

Berserker easily crushed the arrow with his left hand while he swung his sword with the right hand. Despite her two-handed style, it seemed Saber had to put all of her strength into her swings not to be pushed back.

"Fine, you monster, let me try to disable you…" Rider murmured to herself as switched aim and shot arrows at his legs, again and again, and again.

Berserker seemed to dance and he stepped out of the way to avoid Rider's arrows, but that made it much harder to maintain his balance against Saber, as a result she began to gain the upper hand. "Got you!"

Berserker howled like a beast, grabbing his sword's handle with both hands and swinging at saber as if he was trying to make a home run. Saber was thrown back and he quickly turned around to go after Rider.

"Not so fast." Rider was more than prepared for it as her horse, guided by her, started to turn the moment she saw the swing. She was more than far enough to avoid his leap and as she circled, drew her bow again. "Don't give me too much attention."

Right as he broke the arrow aimed at him, Berserker had to take a wild swing to keep Saber at bay. They were back to the start.

A similar scene happened two more times, with Rider tormenting Berserker enough that he tried to create distance against Saber to go after Rider, however Rider was always able to keep a quite great distance between them. Not only that, by the third time Rider had the timing of his swing down and lodged an arrow on his shoulder, even while having the time to turn around and create distance. The crazed warrior was effectively neutralized.

With each repetition of the scene Ilyasviel grew more irritated. Eventually, she lost her patience. "Berserker, playtime's over! Kill them with all of your power!" The man roared and once again swung with great force, knocking Saber back, but this time he didn't go after Rider.

Berserker stood there, still roaring as if in great pain, while it happened, his body started to change. Scale-like things covered his body, his nails turned into claws and his face elongated. He looked just like a dragon.

"What the?" Saber could not hid her surprise as Berserker charged at her completely ignoring Rider arrows, which bounced harmlessly from his scales. Even if she expected it, the increased heaviness of Berserker's blows seriously threatened her balance. Saber could no longer afford to stand her ground and instead had to take steps back in order to avoid getting cut.

"Yes, that's how things should be. After all he is the legendary hero Beowulf. Although he is more well-known as the slayer of Grendel and Grendel's mother, in his old age he also slayed a dragon, dying from the battle's wounds, due to that, his soul mingled with the dragon's essence and allowed him to draw from its powers, awesome isn't it?" The little girl puffed with pride as she explained it. "Now you understand why you won't survive this night?"

Rider grumbled. At the moment there was nothing more she could do against that ridiculous defense. She couldn't even distract him anymore and Saber looked like she wouldn't last long, he probably wouldn't even give her enough time to use her Noble Phantasm, which might have at least dented his scales enough to make Rider effective once again.

"I didn't want to do this, but…" She didn't have any choice. She pointed her bow at the defenseless girl, all she had to do was release the arrow, yet something made her hesitate.

Was it the look of disbelief that a Servant would actually go for her, even though the situation was that desperate? Perhaps Rider just wasn't prepared to shoot a little girl even though she was a mortal enemy. The next moment she was bleeding on the ground. _Damn, that monster got really fast. _So that was it? It seemed that was the end of the road for her, she would simply be defeated here without having her wish granted.

"Finish her!" Saber seemed to have been knocked back quite a distance this time, hitting a wall after that. _Looks like he does have enough time to finish me off. _Berserker was over her and prepared a thrust aimed at her heart. Rider smiled and struggled to her feet, it was the least she could do.

But she felt no pain as she heard the sound of metal piercing flesh. She could clearly see why. In front of her was her master, a sword coming from his shoulder. Shock prevented her from saying anything.

Everybody else, except for the warrior, who calmly put his foot on Shirou's back and pulled his sword free, was also shocked by the situation.

"Why…?" The girl asked in a dumbfounded voice. "Fine, have it your way! This is boring." Her stare changed to a glare. "Next time, I'll kill you, Rin." Then she left.

Finally Rider was able to find her voice. "Master!" She cried.

"That idiot!" Tohsaka seemed almost as distressed as the Servant.

3rd day end

**Time for bonus content! Next follows the known stats for Berserker of this war:**

**General)**

**Master: Ilyasviel von Einzbern**

**True name: Beowulf**

**Alignment: Chaotic Insane**

**Strength: A+**

**Endurance: A+**

**Agility: A**

**Magical Energy: B**

**Luck: C**

**Noble Phantasm: A+**

**Class abilities) **

**Madness B: All parameters are increased, but sanity is lost.**

**Details)**

**According to the legend, Beowulf was a great warrior of the Geats. He slayed the creature Grendel, who was tormenting Hrothgar, king of the Danes, attacking and killing warriors every time there was celebration in the Mead Hall. After that, Grendel's mother attempted to avenge her son but also ended up slain by Beowulf. Beowulf's end only came much later when a dragon attacked because someone stole from its hoard. Despite dying from the battle's wounds, Beowulf managed to kill the dragon with the help of Wiglaf, one of his men.**

**Skills)**

**Battle continuation A: The ability to stay alive. Even on the verge of death, the user will fight as if unhindered and as long as the battle conyinues, will only die to a clear fatal blow.**

**Instinct B: The ability to "feel" the best course in battle. As it is done in an almost subconscious manner, the user's battle skills are the same despite loss of sanity.**

**Equal conditions A: Comfort in fighting on the same conditions as one's opponent. Beowulf famously elected to fight unarmed against Grendel as he thought it would be only "fair". Beowulf fights better if he is using the same weapon as his opponent.**

**Noble Phantasm)**

**Dragon Form,**

**Essence of the Dragon**

**Beowulf can call on the power of the dragon with which he traded deathblows.**

**While it is active, all parameters are increased by one point. Furthermore he gains Magic Resistance B and physical attacks against him are lowered by two ranks. Attacks of rank C or below are nullified.**

**The burden on the Master as far as Magical Energy consumption is greatly increased for as long as this form is active.**

**Rank: A+**

**Type: Anti-personnel**

**Range: -**

**Maximum target: 1 person**


	4. 4th Day

4th Day – Cooperation

He was dreaming, but this time it wasn't about the fire, it was about a more recent memory. Once again Shirou was talking with his father, Emiya Kiritsugu. Once again they talked about Heroes of Justice and once again Shirou vowed to follow his father's footsteps.

He woke up. Once again, Emiya Shirou was in his room. "Huh, what was going on again?" He tried to get up with his right arm, but he felt such pain from his shoulder that he almost fainted. _Oh yeah, I almost got myself killed. _But he still felt like something was still missing.

Taking better care not to move his right arm, Shirou got up and went to wash his face, after that he made his way to the living room. Even that felt like an enormous exertion to him.

Good thing it was Sunday, he'd have the luxury to relax and recover his shoulder as much as possible. It'd be terrible if Sakura or Fuji-nee saw how his shoulder was. _Yep, it's good to be able to relax._ He repeated it to himself as he stepped into the living room.

"Good morning, Emiya-kun. I hope you don't mind it but I let myself in without your permission." Tohsaka Rin was sitting in a cushion, calmly sipping tea.

"Tohsaka! Why are you…?" Then it completely hit him. Of course she was there. Considering what had happened last night, it would have been strange if she had just abandoned him.

"Why? How rude of you! Who do you think treated that wound of yours after you fainted from the shock? Also, who helped carry you back here? At least show some gratitude!" She had an irritated face. _Well, she does have a good reason I guess._

"I'm sorry Tohsaka, I shouldn't have worried you."

She was taken aback by his answer. "W-who is worrying about you? Idiot, it's just because it would reflect bad on me if something happened to you while we were still cooperating." She crossed her arms and looked away.

_Something did happen though. _But he wasn't going to say that to her, after all, Shirou still valued his life. "Oh, right, we only had a truce until today right? That's a shame, I guess."

"Oh, if you want to talk about that, then…" She seemed to have something to say, but it was like she had difficulty in coming to terms with it. "You see…" Shirou had to suppress his laughter. What was she having trouble with? "Hey, why are you grinning?" Her irritated face came back.

"Oh, nothing, please continue." Her personality was so far from his image that maybe Shirou had to laugh not to cry. But she was cute.

"You sure?" She still looked at him suspiciously then sighed. "Anyway, what I want to say is that maybe it would be a good idea to extend our cooperation. How about that?"

"Huh?" _That was what she was having trouble with? _Shirou's mind froze for a few seconds.

"That's what I thought, after all we are both Masters, a long-term cooperation would be problematic and all…" She said in a voice which sounded disappointed but knew that such a response was a possibility.

Shirou's mind finally came back on. "Wait, Tohsaka! Don't misunderstand. I'd be happy to extend our cooperation; it's just that I couldn't imagine you proposing that." Immediately Shirou regretted his choice of words.

He thought he saw a vein pop in Tohsaka's forehead and a smile full of killing intent appeared in her face. "Oh, so that's how it is. You couldn't imagine me asking for an extension of our cooperation because I seem that cold to you?"

There had to be a way for him to defuse this bomb. "No, it's just… That, right? Didn't you say that normally Masters don't cooperate for long? Since you're such a great Master, I think you'd prefer to act alone…" _Please let those have been the right words._

"Oh so you think I'm arrogant and can't make use of proper opportunities?" He missed. The pressure kept mounting up.

"My bad. That was not a good choice of words." He looked down hoping he looked apologetic. "It's just that I don't think I'm very appropriate as far as an ally goes."

This time he got it right, as the pressure disappeared and Rin switched to a more pensive expression. "Well, you are a half-assed Magus and half-assed Master. But I guess" She smiled at that. "that you compensate that with your almost stupid honesty and trustworthiness."

Shirou almost blushed and then realized that he wasn't only being complimented. "Well, I guess you stuck with a half-assed Magus like me as an ally." He mumbled. "But what made you change your mind after insisting that it was a limited matter yesterday?"

Tohsaka didn't seem comfortable with it, but she answered the question anyway. "Well, you saw Berserker after he transformed, right? I don't think either of us would be able to defeat such a ridiculous opponent alone. Don't you agree?"

Shirou didn't really want to think about the mad warrior who gave him that shoulder wound. Still, he had to agree, that Servant's power was nothing short of ridiculous and he felt that he would have no chance against him with Rider. He nodded in agreement.

Tohsaka seemed satisfied. "Well, now that we're done with that, I have to go home right now to prepare a few things. Do you know where Saber and Rider are?"

He shrugged. "Beats me. If you want me to I can help you look for them." Now that Tohsaka mentioned them, Shirou realized he hadn't seen them yet.

They looked in the whole house but could find neither Rider nor Saber, which could only mean one thing.

"Come, Tohsaka, I think I know where they are."

As they approached the dojo, Shirou knew that his bet was right. A sound of clashing wooden swords could be heard from outside.

As he entered the dojo, Shirou was breathless. Even if it was not as impressive as a real fight, a sparring match between Servants was still quite the sight to behold.

Saber was clearly the superior swordsman, but not enough to overwhelm Rider who, despite spending much of the match on the defensive, managed to not get pushed to the wall and even launched some attacks of her own.

Something was bothering Shirou, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. Perhaps… "Tohsaka, why are they wearing the same clothes?" He looked to his side, but Rin seemed even more entranced than him. "Tohsaka!" He tried speaking louder.

"Huh? What?" She seemed surprised that he was talking to her. He finally caught her attention, but his chance was gone as the Servants finally realized that their Masters were present and stopped sparring.

"Oh, Master and Saber's Master. Good morning." Rider was the first to talk. Something was bothering Shirou.

Before Saber could follow with a greeting of her own Shirou replied to Rider. "Rider, I am not 'Master', my name is Emiya Shirou, and 'Saber's Master' is Tohsaka Rin." That was it. When Rider didn't call them by their names it just seemed so impersonal.

"So, would Shirou and Rin suffice then, Master?" Shirou almost replied in exasperation when Rider quickly corrected. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would that be fine, Shirou?" He looked at Rin and she didn't seem to mind.

It was Saber's turn. "So then, would you prefer if I called Rider's Master Shirou, Rin?" Rin nodded.

That was it then. But there was still something else that was bothering him. _Oh, right! _Why are the both of you wearing the same clothes?" The same white shirt, blue skirt…

"What? You got any problem?" Rin had a defiant look. "Those were the only clothes I had lying around; you don't have any clothes for women, right?" Shirou had to concede that she had a point, but still.

"I don't know, I can't help but feel that it is wrong somehow." Shirou mumbled to himself.

Rider looked as if she thought it had an easy solution. "Well, if you're truly dissatisfied, I can just give the clothes back to Rin and walk around in my armor. Rin said we should use clothes from this era to not call unnecessary attention, but I personally don't mind."

Shirou pictured Rider in her armor, looking like she was riding to war. It was definitely not a good idea to leave her like that. "No. That is not an option Rider, but you staying in the same clothes as Saber is also not really…"

"Then, do you want me naked around the house?"

"Wha…?"

"Oh, so that's how it is, you had this kind of taste, Emiya-kun." Rin was smiling devilishly.

"No, damn, you're wrong!" He denied it while blushing furiously. Then he turned to Rider. "And don't say something like that with such a serious face!" Her face continued serious.

"So then we're down to the last option. We could use the day to purchase clothes which you think are suitable for me." Shirou's face got red again.

The devilish smile came back. "O-ho, I understand, that certainly would be a viable option for you Emiya-kun, perhaps… Wasn't this your plan all along? Certainly Rider is beautiful and any man would want to go on a date with her." Internally Shirou was cursing Rin. How could she do that to him? Perhaps if she hadn't said it he would have been able to persuade himself that it most definitely wasn't a date.

"Date? I am unfamiliar with this word, how is it related to purchasing clothes?" He wasn't sure whether Rider's obliviousness was a good or a bad thing.

"Okay, listen closely Rider…" Rin approached her as if to tell a very important secret, except she was grinning the entire time.

"Stop! Just stop, okay, Tohsaka? I'll just talk things out with Rider and if we do buy clothes we'll give back the ones you lent to us. Didn't you have to go back to your home?" A huge success.

Rin immediately had the look of someone who had forgotten something and finally remembered it. "Right! There's a bunch of things that I have to prepare. Saber, let's go."

Rin hurriedly left the house along with Saber. Shirou felt awkward making her leave like that, but it better than the situation that was developing. _I feel like I just beat Tohsaka. _He turned strangely satisfied from the door as he saw Rin off. But he was surprised by Rider's angry face as he entered the living room.

"Now, explain to me very clearly. What were you thinking?" She spoke in a stern voice, not shouting, but perhaps because of that, Shirou's sense of danger was more intense.

"What?" Was she talking about the conversation just now? "If you want to stay with those clothes…"

"Don't play dumb." Her glare got more intense. "I am talking about last night. What were you thinking when you jumped in front of Berserker?" So that was what she was talking about.

"Thinking? I don't know, I just jumped to try to save you, I don't think I was really thinking." That was the best reply he could think of.

Rider didn't seem impressed at all. "Well, then next time you'd better think. What if he hadn't tried to finish me with a thrust? He could have cut you head off! What if he had pierced your heart or lungs? You can't put your life at risk like that, Shirou." He understood what she meant. It made sense. But he still couldn't agree.

"Of course I can, if it is to save a woman, i will put my life on the line anytime! Besides, I didn't get gravely injured." Rider gave him a look as a mother would at an unruly child. She poked his right shoulder with force, making him almost fall over in pain. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"Not a grave injury? It's a miracle that you can even move your arm still." She stood up to leave the living room.

"Wait. Where are you going? The conversation is not over."

"No, the conversation is over. I have voiced my opinion on the matter, it your choice whether or not to consider the merit of it, though we will come back to it if another such situation comes to pass. As for your question, weren't we going on this 'date' thing so you can purchase clothes that you think are more fitting for me?" Her tone was normal now.

Shirou forgot the conversation they had just had and once again had his face completely red. "It's not a date! Look, we are going to buy clothes, but it's definitely not a date!" He had to keep denying it, or else he might not be able to fool himself.

* * *

It was a more complicated process than he thought. His plan was to ride to Shinto, enter the nearest clothing shop and emerge from it with the clothes. Despite her insistence that Shirou pick out the clothes for her, Rider kept rejecting the pained choices that he made.

Time passed and as he grew more and more frustrated, Shirou threatened to use the Command Spell to make Rider choose the clothes which she thought looked the best, but gave up when she pointed out that. "I might end up choosing something over your budget." But at least it convinced her to pick out the clothes herself.

In the end she chose a few changes of skinny jeans and small shirts that left most of her arms visible. Shirou considered voicing his opposition, but then realized that they couldn't really afford to stay in Shinto much longer without having to eat lunch.

Shirou thought he would have the benefit of a quiet lunch but saw that this wasn't going to be the case as he approached his home. "Oh, Tohsaka, what are you doing in front of my house?"

"You're late, you idiot!" He had mentally prepared himself for her teasing, but apparently she had stood there for too long, so the mood for that had passed. Instead, he was dealing the full brunt of the wrath from a Tohsaka Rin that was made to wait for a long while. "Why did you even lock the house?"

"Why?" He had to recover himself. "Well, you usually lock the house when you leave the house. Wait, what is that pack on the ground?" He tried to process the meaning of it.

"Exactly! I was just going to my home to take a few things. I wanted to have everything ready by lunch, but apparently you took your sweet time with your date." So it meant that Tohsaka was moving in, right.

"Huh, how come you're simply moving in? Also, it wasn't a date!"

"Of course I am moving in, we're cooperating now, right? We're going to make our main base here. Then, I have to bring my workshop here." She ignored the latter part of his speech and stormed in as he opened the door.

Saber bowed slightly before entering. "Excuse me."

Shirou stood there helplessly, unable to stop the invasion of his house. Would he be able to relax?

* * *

It was night, long past midnight. A lone figure trudged through the streets of Shinto. Considering the strange coma accidents that kept happening around the town and the accompanying rumors. "It's a gas leak. No, there's something strange about the electric grid. It might be a terrorist attack." It was strange that anyone walked outside at such a time; it was something only crazy people or drunks would do. Despite his walk resembling the latter, Matou Shinji was neither, though he might sometimes wish to be a drunk, if he thought it would ease his pain a little.

"Assassin, did you find any Master?" He talked to nothingness, and it replied him.

"I'm sorry, but my answer is negative, Master."

"Is that so…" Shinji smiled weakly as if there was something funny going on. "You mean to tell me that I came all the way over here for nothing?" He seemed on the brink of uncontrollable rage when he suddenly calmed down. Maybe it was because he was completely out of breath. After a moment he resumed talking. "Whatever. We will just use the opportunity to get you more energy. You know what I mean, right?"

"Yes, Master. I do have the choice of victim right?"

Shinji replied impatiently. "Yeah, yeah, just don't waste too much energy looking for someone that suits your tastes." Assassin didn't reply. He was happy that his Master had something in common with him, a deep rage against the world, which took from them something which they thought was theirs by right. Well, in Shinji's case, things were much more in his head, but it didn't matter. Everyone rages for a different reason, whether unreasonable or not. He didn't care about his Master's rage's unreasonableness. What bothered him was that it was too unpolished, too unfocused. But he would change that.

"I will teach you, Matou Shinji, the proper way of attaining revenge against those you feel have wronged you." He smiled as he saw a proper victim in an alley.

* * *

He was drunk. But it didn't matter. He had a reason for it. Life was shitty, so it was only fair that he do something about.

"So what if I robbed that stupid bitch to get drunk, huh!" The man shouted at the trash can as if it was accusing him. "No like ma' gonna geh anotha job." Not after he hit his boss' boss. Yeah, life was tough for dumbasses that attacked bigwigs.

So it didn't matter, didn't matter at all. So he wanted to get drunk. But getting drunk wasn't easy, so he stole from some woman to get the money for the booze. Now he was feeling the after-effects. It was so soothing. He felt like he was about to drift away to another land. He closed his eyes and… Opened them again.

Somebody was there. Who? The police? No, something else. The man was wearing a hood, he thought he saw a cross somewhere. The man kneeled next to the drunk and said something he didn't hear. "Wha? Yoo say, yuu… Bu…Bu… Aby Boozonee? Yeah, I like booze?" His tension was gone. If the person was some kind of religious, he probably wouldn't get in trouble.

The man smiled. "Yes, you like booze. Tell me more about your sins, I will see what I can do about purifying them."

The drunk would never rob anyone ever again.

Meanwhile, Emiya Shirou tries to sleep despite being assailed by the image of many blades, as if it was his duty to bring them into existence. Something is wrong. There is no guide, so the boy should learn of them by himself. But there is no problem, it's for that reason that the boy exists. To bring all of those blades into existence.

4th Day end

**Hey, time for this day's bonus round. This time we look at Lacer's Stats:**

**General)**

**Master: ?**

**True Name: Leonidas**

**Alignment: Lawful Evil**

**Strength: A**

**Endurance: B**

**Agility: B**

**Magical Energy: C**

**Luck: B**

**Noble Phantasm: B**

**Class abilities)**

**Magic Resistance C: Nullifies all magic that requires less than two verses. Cannot block large-scale magic.**

**Details)**

**Leonidas was the most famous king of Sparta, home of the great warriors of Greece. Reigning during one of the Persian invasion, Leonidas gained immense fame for leading the Greek army that held out against the Persian army in the Thermopylae for quite a while despite overwhelming odds against them. It is said that the only reason they were defeated was that a traitor showed the Persians a secret way around the small corridor which favored the much smaller Greek army.**

**Skills)**

**Battle continuation B: Can only be killed by a clear death blow.**

**Outnumbered fighting A: Bonus due to being outnumbered. For every opponent beyond the first, the user receives a parameter point that is given in the following order: Strength, Endurance Agility. For example, if he is fighting four opponents, he has a bonus of 1 Strength, 1 Endurance and 1 Agility. Against two opponents he only has a bonus of 1 Strength.**

**Defensive specialist B: Skill at maintaining a defensive position. Fights better once he has chosen a place to stand his ground.**

**Protection against arrows A: Can defend against any kind of projectile, as long as his shield is strong enough to withstand the attack.**

**Noble Phantasm)**

**Spartan Phalanx,**

**Unbreakable Shield Wall of Sparta**

**Leonidas summons for a brief moment his Spartan army, giving the defensive and countering power of the famed battle formation "Phalanx".**

**As the power of the summoning lies in its conceptual power as an almost unbreakable military formation, it creates an almost impenetrable wall despite none of the Spartans carrying a legendary shield.**

**It having two phases, once the enemy's attack is blocked, an opening is always created for a counter-attack, no matter how fast the recovery should be for the blocked attack. (The counter is limited by range).**

**Rank: B**

**Type: Barrier then Anti-army**

**Range: 2-4 (counter)**

**Maximum target: 1 (barrier) 300 (anti-army)**


	5. 5th Day part 1

5th day – part 1 – Scheming

Shirou woke up in the shed. "Huh." Maybe he just didn't realize that after he was done training strengthening magic he hadn't moved back to his room. Still, why were those swords so fascinating? He doesn't remember having ever seen them, yet they were all so terribly familiar.

Shirou quickly washes his face and goes to ask Rider to wait in her room for breakfast. "Oh, it's already six. Let's start to make breakfast." As he enters the living room, some sort of dark brown haired ghost passes him by and greets him lazily.

"Good morning, Shirou." Rin looked like she hadn't really woken up yet.

"Hey, Tohsaka, good morning, you okay?" He felt like she could just as easily run into a wall as find whatever it is that she's looking for.

Rin turned lazily to Shirou. "I'm fine, I'm always like this in the mornings, anyway, how do I get to the bathroom from here?" Shirou gave her the proper directions and quickly turned to the kitchen. He was about to step inside it when he heard the bell. _Oh, right, Sakura._ "Shirou, it seems you have a visitor." _Yeah it is Sakura._

Then it dawned on him that maybe the current situation wasn't exactly normal. He ran to the entrance and saw Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura looking at each other. Strangely, the only one that looked surprised was Sakura.

Shirou tried to say something but was unable to as the Rin unleashed a torrent of teasing in a blatant attempt to convince Sakura to go home, in the surface it seemed quite cruel, but on a more deep level, Shirou realized that maybe his home wasn't exactly a very safe place anymore and that as long as the Holy Grail War continued, it would probably be better for Sakura to stay home.

However, in the end the teasing was a failure and Sakura acted in a manner quite unfamiliar, defiantly deciding to stay and acting in clearly opposition to Rin's presence. Sakura went straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast with a defiant expression. Shirou decided that then it wouldn't be a very good idea to let her know of Rider, Rin would probably do the same with Saber. Rider took it quite calmly.

By the time breakfast started things seemed to have gotten calmer. At least until Fujimura Taiga arrived. Then the tension shot up for a little while there, until Rin was able to talk her into accepting the whole situation. It was quite impressive, or so Shirou thought, the way Rin broke down one by one the arguments put forth.

Finally, as breakfast ended, Shirou went to talk with Rider about school. While she didn't seem very comfortable with him Shirou going, she relaxed somewhat when he said that he would be with Rin. "Just remember to mentally call for me if anything suspicious happens, even if you don't use the Command Spell, I can arrive along with Saber very quickly on my horses. Still, don't hesitate to use the Command Spell if there's an emergency. Okay?" She made him swear to that before she let him go.

Hopefully it would be a peaceful day at school.

* * *

Once again, Matou Shinji caught himself looking at the back of his hand, admiring the Command Spell engraved on it. That he was able to claim such a thing was due to great sacrifice on his part, but despite still having to deal with it he still felt it was worth it. Being some sort of fake Magus was better than being no Magus at all, perhaps it was even better. Unlike Tohsaka, who was born with talent, the only way he found of wielding magic was going through that surgery. It hurt so very much, it still hurt. Every moment that magic is running through his fake circuits Shinji is feeling pain, which meant that ever since Assassin became his Servant, pain was his constant companion.

"Assassin, are you there?" He shouldn't need to ask, the Servant was always watching his Master when not performing any other duty.

The spirit answered the call. "Yes Master, is there something you need?" It was uncommon for Shinji to call Assassin at such a time, not too long after he woke up, after all even the act of Assassin talking increased Shinji's pain.

"I've been thinking. What you said about my uncle possibly having participated in the fourth war isn't baseless." Shinji smiled to himself. "That crappy old man, he probably didn't realize the slip of tongue. I'm pretty sure that I was sent abroad then so I wouldn't know of the Holy Grail War. It's quite possible that uncle Kariya came back for some reason and entered the war as Matou's Master."

"So you wish to know of his fate?"

"Yes. I think I understand it now, Assassin." A distorted grin appeared in his face. "If I wish to become a true bearer of vengeance, then nothing would be better than also carry the grievance of others." He covered his eyes with his arm as if trying to visualize it. "Nobody would question the righteousness of my wrath then!"

"What are your plans for today then, master?"

"They are slightly altered. I believe that the supervisor, who is said to have been a Master in the previous war, would know something about uncle Kariya." He then looked regretful. "You're going to have to deal with Emiya. Walking undetected around the school, even at day should be no problem for you. First of all, check if he's a Master, no matter how ridiculous of an idea that might be, I guess it was you who told me not to take stupid chances. If he's a master, persuade him, if he's not, just bring him here forcefully. No matter what you do, don't kill him. It will lose its meaning if done so quickly." Out of sheer laziness, he put on his school uniform, even though he had no intention of going to school.

In spite of not possessing a mouth at the moment, the spirit smiled, it felt like smiling. _It's good that you understand, master. Take on the outrage of others as your own; there is no fury more righteous than that._

* * *

Shirou wanted to explain to Sakura about the thing with Tohsaka. It wasn't like he could talk about the Holy Grail War, but he somehow felt that he needed to talk to her about it, he felt like she had the right to weigh in on whether or not Tohsaka could stay there. He tried to think about how to go about the explanation when Rin grabbed him. Apparently she wanted to make use of lunch break as a means of discussing the War.

The roof was quite windy and cold, the exact reason why they were there. It being a unflavored location by students in this weather, made it deserted with the exception of him and Rin.

"So, what is it that you want to talk about?" He tried not to sound as annoyed as he felt. He still wanted to talk with Sakura about the whole housing thing.

If she detected it, Rin ignored Shirou's annoyance. "Well, you can probably guess that it is about the War, but it's actually more specific. About this school." She said it calmly but with a hint of concern.

"The school?" Was there something wrong about it? If she said it like that, then she probably had a reason for it. "Why?"

She took a deep breath as if she was sure the explanation would be long. "Quite early in the War, there was an attack set on this school. This is why I was here during the night in which you summoned Rider. You saw Saber and Lancer fighting then, didn't you?" Shirou realized that it necessarily meant that Tohsaka was close by when he was killed by Archer. He felt he shouldn't say anything and kept that information for future reference. He nodded. "There are only two possibilities I can think of, regardless of which Servant was responsible for the attack." She paused for a moment to consider her words better. "Either the one who set it up knew I was a Master, which I believe is quite improbable, or there is another… Wait." She opened her mouth in amazement and stopped talking.

"Tohsaka? Hey, Tohsaka." Shirou called out, but it was useless, Rin was already thinking deeply about something. He just let her keep thinking, eventually she would snap out of it and tell him about her conclusions. "Tohsaka!" He felt something was strange, as she slumped slightly and seemed as if she was caught by something. _An enemy? In broad daylight? Should I call Rider? _He agonized over that decision for a moment until a voice came from near Rin.

"Calm down, boy. I just used a simple remedy useful for when the target is distracted. She should wake up in a few minutes. I am not here to fight, let's not make a scene. Now, just so I am sure…" A man materialized holding Rin. He gently put her down and, before Shirou could do anything, jumped at him, quickly pulling back both of Shirou's sleeves and revealing the Command Spell. Despite jumping back, Shirou knew that if the man had wanted, he would be dead.

"What do you want with me?" Shirou restrained himself, he wanted to shout at the Servant in front of him, but knew that such a thing would do nothing but attract unwanted attention. As if to compensate, he put as much as he could into his glare. Something about that Servant rubbed him the wrong way.

"I already told you to calm down, boy, do you not listen? I am not here to fight. Merely to talk. Today, after school, at five o'clock, you will meet up with my Master in front of the Matou house alone. You will tell none about this, neither your Servant nor this girl, with which you seem to be cooperating with. Worry not, I guarantee that this is not a trap. If my master wished for your demise, it would have been so. You would be well advised to pay more attention to what is going on in your surroundings and not having any defense against surprise attacks." The Servant turned back and started to walk away when he suddenly stopped. "Oh, right. Just hold the girl upright for a moment and she should wake up." Then he was gone.

Only after he was gone that Shirou realized why he felt so irritated. He had clerical robes and a cross hanging from his neck. In a way he felt similar to Kotomine. Shirou couldn't say exactly how, maybe it was that both of them felt like fake clergymen.

He did as the Servant had told him and held Rin upright. After a moment she opened her eyes. They were confused eyes.

"Huh? Shirou? What was I doing?" She didn't seem particularly alert; she really didn't realize she was attacked by Assassin. That had to be Assassin.

Shirou's sigh was from relief. "You were thinking about the possibilities of a Master in school, when you suddenly seemed dizzy." He felt that he shouldn't tell her about Assassin. Even if the Servant had not said so, he would probably have stayed quiet. He didn't want to make Rin worry too much, what she had to deal with already was enough.

"Oh I see, I sorry, maybe I was thinking too much about it that I blanked out and even forgot about what I was thinking about." She looked away and blushed. "How shameful." Shirou couldn't help but comment to himself that she really was cute. That however would not last long. When she completely woke up and realized what was going on. "Why are you still holding me?" She pushed him and jumped back. "I don't need your help idiot!" She was quite flustered.

Shirou gave a regretful smile. He wished he could have held her for a longer time. "Sorry, I just thought you might fall."

She crossed her arms. "Who would?"

Soon the bell would ring, signaling the end of lunch break.

* * *

He finally arrived at the church on the hill. A chill ran Shinji's spine, but somehow it seemed more of a relief since he constantly felt that he had a hot iron rod in his spine. There he would find answers and a good reason, perhaps even a righteous reason.

He put his hands on the heavy doors and pushed. The interior of the church was revealed. "Supervisor of the Holy Grail War, Kotomine Kirei, I demand to speak with you." There was nobody in there, but somehow Shinji felt that wherever the priest was, he certainly had heard him, so he waited.

It didn't take too long for the tall figure of the priest to emerge from the back of the church. "What is it? Intending to retire so soon, Matou Shinji?" He said it in a mocking tone, but Shinji ignored it.

"As if. Actually, I have come here after information from the last Holy Grail War. There's something I'm curious about." He sat on a bench, signaling that he expected an answer, a long one at that.

The priest smiled. "Understand that I cannot give you any information that would put you at an unfair advantage, that would be unbecoming of the War's supervisor, you see. However, if it is something that I can answer, I will answer it to your satisfaction."

"All right then, tell me what you know of Matou Kariya."

For a moment, the surprise was evident in Kirei's face. He obviously did not expect that. A small, cruel smile started to creep into the Priest's face, as if it was a particularly good memory for him. "Now that's a nostalgic name. A name I didn't expect to hear uttered in this War. I don't know where you've heard of his connection to the Holy Grail War, nor will I ask about it. I did say I would answer if I could. Come." He started to make his way to the back of the church. "This is not something to be discussed in the open."

Shinji followed the priest inside the church, passing through the small garden and into a stone room with some furniture. "So, is this place appropriate for this discussion?" Shinji asked with a hint of impatience.

"Don't worry, I shall tell you of everything that you require as long as it is within my knowledge of Matou Kariya." He pointed to one of the chairs. "Have a seat. Unfortunately I have no wine which to offer you, I hope you do not mind that." The priest spoke calmly.

"I do not mind that, I came here for information on Kariya, not wine. Now, if you could, please tell me of the story of Matou Kariya." He was almost trembling in anticipation.

"Fine, it is quite the dramatic tragedy really, almost comedic even…"

* * *

By the time Kotomine Kirei was done telling the story, it was time for lunch break, not that it mattered to Shinji, who had skipped school. He was so entranced by the story that he didn't see the time go by, actually, he almost forgot to feel the pain.

Before he realized, Shinji was laughing. He was laughing so much that he couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much. He laughed so much that his pain got sharper, but he still couldn't stop. The priest just watched him calmly. "What is it? You agree with me that it is such a sad and pitiful story that you can almost laugh at it?"

At that, Shinji stopped laughing and looked seriously at the priest. "It is not. You would do better to respect my uncle, coward that he was by abandoning the Matou family. He was braver and nobler than most magi by throwing everything away for the sake of a little girl, even though he knew his chances of success were astronomically low." He could glare like that at him. That was something that Kirei could respect.

"Then, what is it that you find so amusing, Matou Shinji?"

"The little girl…" He almost burst out laughing. "That Sakura, until she met Emiya she seemed like a completely lost person. She acted as if she had been abandoned by the whole world, like all people ever did was abandon or abuse her. But there was actually such a story… What a bad girl she is, forgetting our uncle's sacrifice just like that." He spoke almost spitting, like he was condemning the girl.

"Well, you can hardly blame her. I'm sure that the Matou's training is not very conducive to an unblemished memory." There was something more interesting for him in what Shinji just said. "So you mean to tell me that Matou Sakura has a relationship with Emiya Shirou?" This could be fascinating.

"Yeah, though it is not as intimate as I think she'd like it to be. She totally has the hots for Emiya, that bitch. Even though she already has me, it is such a shame. But well, I found something more spiritually satisfying than assaulting my bitch of a sister." His smile was quite twisted.

"Oh? That sounds quite promising, would you care to talk about it?" Things seemed to be going to an unexpectedly entertaining direction.

"I guess it wouldn't be much of a problem, as long as you can keep everything from Emiya if he comes asking. I do owe you for telling me about my uncle."

"Please, what kind of servant of god would I be if I could not keep quiet about people's confessions?" He hoped it would be enough to convince the Matou boy.

"I suppose you have a…" At that he started coughing and even spit some blood. The priest looked nonchalant but stood up, ready to give assistance if it was needed of him. "Oh, don't worry, it's nothing. Recently I've been having some health problems, but nothing that will keep me out of the War." Kirei couldn't help but be reminded of Kariya. Was the boy sacrificing something in order to be able to be a Master? Perhaps pitifulness was something that ran in the Matou family, not surprising, considering who their patriarch was. "Anyway, this is what I'm going to do…" The priest listened intently to the boy.


	6. 5th Day part 2

5th Day – Part 2 – Poisoning

Matou Shinji was impatiently waiting in front of his house. It was almost five, but nothing seemed to be ready, neither the main actor, nor the stage. "Damn, that Assassin, things should have been ready by now, hopefully nothing has gone wrong." He kept clicking his tongue in anticipation.

"Do not worry, master, everything is as the plan requires. As I told you, I doesn't matter how cunning a person may be, so long as you can push the right buttons, they will act exactly as you please." Although he spoke almost tonelessly, Shinji could detect pride in Assassin's voice. Well, what they just pulled was worthy of any and all pride.

It was worth it talking with his Servant about each other's lives. Just like he read, they soon started "dreaming" about each other's lives, which was quite useful, since Assassin was really good at grasping the details that affected each person.

It was quite uncommon for Zouken to send Sakura to the worm room in consecutive days, but Assassin saw a common theme between all of the times that it happened: He was annoyed at something, irritated by little things like sounds that pile up one by one, until he takes it out on the girl who cannot ever oppose him. In addition to that, he always left her alone so long as he had something important to reflect about.

As things seemed to be sliding into place, Shinji started to find it was hard to hold his laughter. "Hehe, you're right Assassin, that crappy old man is quite the simpleton once you stop irrationally fearing him, not only that he's too arrogant and cannot imagine that someone might outsmart him. Not only that, he isn't as focused on his goal as he'd like us to think."

So he could prepare the situation, he held out information on Lancer and Archer for a few days. Well, he might also have embellished their abilities a little since he wanted to make sure Zouken was going to want to think about it, so he could be forgiven, right? When he realized what he just thought, Shinji's smile turned to a frown. _Screw it. I don't need to be forgiven by anyone, least of all that sadistic old bag of crap. He won't know what's coming, well at least not until it is impossible for him to dodge it._

For now, he had to concentrate on Emiya. He should be getting here soon, and then, Shinji's revenge would be put in beautiful motion.

* * *

Who was the Servant's Master? The most obvious answer would have been Matou Shinji, but it couldn't be. Shirou reminded himself that Rin said that the Matou bloodline as Magi had died, they did not have Magic Circuits, but who else would have wanted him to go to the Matou household? It was all the more suspicious considering that Shinji was absent, wouldn't he have just went to Shirou if he wanted to talk? Maybe the Master was threatening the Matous for some reason? If it was so, Shirou wouldn't forgive him, whoever he was if he did something to Sakura. The girl was unrelated to the War.

Rin told him that generally, only the oldest child learned magic, in order to keep the knowledge concentrated, and that the younger children were either raised as normal people or put up for adoption. Shirou hoped that Sakura was raised to have a normal life. _It's no use worrying about that, I have a feeling that I will have an answer when I get there._

He arrived at the Matou household a few minutes late, he hoped that wasn't a problem. There to welcome him was Matou Shinji, grinning like he had just seen something good. Despite that, he looked pale, was he okay?

"Yo, Emiya, it's good that you made the time to come up here and visit us, it really gladdens my heart. No, really, I wouldn't have known what to do if you hadn't shown up." There was something profoundly suspicious about him. Shirou couldn't really remember when was the last time that his "friend" treated him with such friendliness.

"Shinji! So you're that Servant's Master after all, what are you planning?" He felt that he should be careful, even if Assassin had already let pass a chance to kill him, it didn't mean that he, or his Master, wouldn't change his mind.

Shinji threw his hands up in the air as if mocking fear. "Whoa, Emiya, temper that look of yours, trying to test if you can kill me with it?" That mocking tone was more like it.

"I still don't quite trust you, Shinji. Why did make your Servant do that? What are you trying to pull?" Shirou had decided not to stop home to pick up wooden swords, but he still found a couple sticks that he could strengthen if need be. He moved his hands to his bag, where they were stashed.

"Huh? That's strange, because you came alone just like I asked you to, isn't it too late for misgivings now? Even if you try to use your Command Spell, my Assassin is fast enough to stop and kill you before you activate it." He sighed and turned his back. "Well it hurts me, but if you can't trust me, I'll have you leave then. Don't worry, I won't send Assassin after you, just go." He started to walk towards the house.

"Wait!" Shinji stopped. "I can't give unreserved trust, but as you've said, me coming here alone is a show of goodwill, is it not? Why did you call me here? And why did you go as far as making your Servant exclude Tohsaka from the conversation?" He wanted to listen to what Shinji had to say after all.

Shinji looked at him for a few moments before answering. "Fine, that sign of goodwill will have to do then. As for not having Tohsaka come here, it's the issue of trust. Just as you don't trust me too much, I don't trust the perfect Magus that Tohsaka is too much. Understand? What is soon going to transpire inside the walls of the Matou household is something that I'd rather keep between the family and intimate friends." It was all said in such a serious tone that Shirou felt awkward.

That still did not change the way that he was called. "Why didn't you call me yourself? Why have your Servant do it?"

"Hey I'm sick, even someone as dense as you can tell, right? I'm not really healthy enough to go walking around right now, you see. Which is why I don't think I have a very good prospect of winning this War. I thought that maybe, I would at least have the power to do something important, but it turns out I was wrong; hence why I am having you come here. I need your help. No, Sakura needs your help." Each line was delivered with just the needed amount of dramatic tone. However, it was all unneeded as there was only phrase that really caught Shirou's attention.

"Sakura, needs help?" He felt as if there was a lump in his throat, that couldn't be, only a couple of days ago she seemed like there was nothing wrong. Wait, is Shinji is a Master, then maybe she was attacked? Panic flooded Shirou. "What do you mean? What happened? Tell me, Shinji!" He gripped Shinji and started to shake him.

"Calm down Emiya, if you're unable to keep your cool, then this can only end in tragedy. First of all, promise me this, no matter what, you won't lose your cool, can you do that?" Shinji put his hands firmly on Shirou's shoulder, as if to give him confidence.

"I…" Shinji shouldn't even need to ask him that. Shirou knew he needed to keep his cool if he wanted to save people. "Of course I can. I'm sorry, Shinji, I shouldn't have made you ask this of me."

Shinji smiled. "That's good. That's why I chose to ask this of you, Emiya. You're such a good guy. This had to result in something good for us Matou." He turned around again, but this time made a signal for Shirou to follow him. "Let's start, I still have to prepare a few things, come on in, I'm going to explain the situation to you before we get to the action."

"I'm listening."

As always, the inside of the Matou Household was quite dark, so much that if Shinji didn't keep talking, Shirou felt that he might lose him. "Tohsaka probably told you about the thing with Magi families and heirs right? So I can skip that part, no?"

"Yeah, and since you're the Master from Matou that means that you are a Magus and Sakura is just a normal girl right?" He could barely see it but it seemed that Shinji shook his head.

"Unfortunately, the reality of the Matou house is much more complex than that, Emiya." They had gotten to Shinji's room. "You see, when Tohsaka told you that the Matou house had dried up, she wasn't lying. I was born without a single Magic Circuit." He seemed to be searching for something in his room.

"What? How does that make sense? After…" Shinji emerged from a wardrobe long enough to put a palm up to interrupt Shirou.

"As it is not pertinent to the situation at hand, I'd prefer if you refrained from asking about how I got functional Magic Circuits. However, when I say that in my generation the Matou line had completely dried up, even someone as dense as you realizes what it means if I tell you that Sakura has many Magic Circuits, right? Oh, there it was."

The answer was so obvious that Shirou almost thought he'd get it wrong. "She's adopted."

Shinji emerged from the wardrobe again, this time with a portable CD player in his hand and pointed at Shirou. "Exactly. Not too bad, Emiya, it seems like you're following me." Shirou decided to ignore the subtle shot at him.

"I see, what does this mean, though? Being adopted is hardly the end of the world." He could personally testify to that.

A sarcastic smile appeared in Shinji's face. "Well, you don't think that because your name isn't Matou Shirou. I'm pretty sure the Sakura would be much happier if her family name was Emiya." Then he added in a murmur. "In more ways than one."

Shirou's face darkened, it didn't seem like Shinji was lying. "What's wrong with being a Matou Magus?"

"Well, the training to become one, for example, but later there will be plenty of time for a demonstration. Come, we might still make it." Shinji left his room, Shirou followed him. "You see, I was the one that was to be raised without knowing anything. But it was not to be, I found out about magic on my own, you see. I constantly read my grandfather's books without permission, despite not having a single speck of talent as a Magus. I nurtured dreams of actually reviving the Matou line."

Suddenly something clicked inside Shirou, he realized something that he would have never had realized if he didn't have this conversation with Shinji. "That's why you started to mistreat Sakura for no reason! You discovered that she had been adopted to learn magic as the Matou heir."

A bitter laugh came from ahead of Shirou. "I admit that I haven't been a very good older brother at times because of this. But it is all in the past now, you see. I finally realized that this isn't something to agonize over. This is one of the reasons that I have you here, Emiya."

They were in a part of the house that Shirou didn't remember having ever seen, it was somewhere on the second level. Shinji pressed something and a passage appeared that seemed to lead down deeper than the first level. Shirou looked at Shinji with anticipation. "Is it here?" He wasn't sure himself what he meant by "it", but Shirou felt that "it" wasn't something good.

Shinji nodded. "You ready for the truth, Emiya?" Shirou nodded. "Alright, let's go."


	7. 5th Day part 3

5th Day – Part 3 – Poisoning (2)

They descended the passage in silence, eventually Shirou saw the entrance to a chamber, a strange feeling emanated from it. A greenish light was coming from it and he could hear strange sounds. "Sakura!" He tried to jump ahead but was held by Assassin.

"Calm down, Emiya, I'll let you in when the time comes, but for now let me deal with this." Shirou tried to struggle, but Assassin was too strong.

"You're really unable to keep a cool head when it's about a more intimate person, that's too much of a weakness, boy."

Shinji entered the chamber and turned, he started to talk to someone. "Yo, feeling fine today? Oh, silly me, of course not, you have to deal with this instead of going to Emiya's house right?" He sat down. "Emiya really is a good guy, isn't he? Who knows, if he ever discovered what you have to deal with he might even try to save you. Sort of like uncle Kariya." He had a sinister smile on his face. "Remember uncle Kariya?"

What was he talking about? If Sakura really needed help, they shouldn't waste time, why was Shinji talking about something like that? Shirou opened his mouth, but any sound he would make was stifled by Assassin putting his hand over his mouth. He whispered. "Shut up, don't ruin it, wait until it's your turn." Shirou could sense murder in Assassin's words.

"Poor uncle Kariya, he practically reduced himself to a walking sac of flesh, all for you. Did he ever get a single word of thanks? I don't think so. Sure, he might have pathetically failed." Shinji stopped talking for a moment, Shirou wasn't sure because he couldn't hear, but someone was saying something. Was it Sakura? "Why? I just thought I would point out how much of an ungrateful person you are. But then again, who knows? Perhaps as he lost his last spark of life he might have had an hallucination better than any 'thanks for trying' you might have given him." He let out a long sigh. "It hurts me, you know, this miserable life of yours, so I decided to give you a chance of redemption. You always dreamed of being saved, right? Try to treat your savior better this time. Hey, Emiya, it's your turn."

"Don't disappoint us." With that, Assassin practically threw Shirou inside the chamber. Shirou quickly realized that where Shinji was sitting was a sort of walkway, at this end there were stairs down to a pit that dominated practically the entirety of the room. He looked towards the pit.

"Senpai!"

"Sakura!" They both spoke at the same time. Something fizzled inside Shirou as he took in that scene.

Sakura was completely naked, surrounded by innumerous… Worms? Maggots? Shirou wasn't sure of how to describe them, nor did he want to. They writhed and wriggled and moved on Sakura, some other latched on to her. Other tried to enter through any open orifice. Shirou couldn't have imagined such a thing in even the most feverish and horrific of his nightmares. Still, despite all of that, the part made him feel sick the most was her face. Even if she did not always laugh, she always had a gentle expression on his face. There was no trace of a smile on her face. It was a kind of horrified shocked face. A single tear rolled down her face and a few worms jumped on it, she ignored them.

"Nooooooooo!" It was something akin to a shriek. Sakura shrank, as if trying to block her view from Shirou, as if the most important part was for him not to see her. "Please, don't look at me, Senpai." It was pained, like she was begging.

Shirou, however, wasn't listening to her. Without thinking about anything he jumped. Before he could start falling though, something grasped his collar and pulled him back. He hit the wall with a thud and lost his breath. "Don't be stupid, boy, if you jump in right now you will just get devoured by the worms." Assassin was looking at him with contempt.

"Just leave him be, Assassin, if he can't keep up his promise of not losing his cool, he should just die pathetically." He was squatting near the CD player and was pressing a few buttons. "There, that will rile them up even more." 'click', just as Shinji pressed the button, "Master of Puppets" by Metallica started to blast from the CD player.

Shirou stood up after recovering his breath. "Shinji! What are you doing? Is this your doing?" He could barely think, all he knew was that he had to do something.

_End of passion play_

_Crumbling away_

_I'm your sword of self-destruction_

"How rude of you! There is only one person heartless enough in this house to do such a thing." Shinji pointed beyond Shirou, at the breathless old man standing at the chamber's entrance.

"Shinji, you worthless… What are you doing, you retard? If this keeps up, the worms are going to devour Sakura!" There was panic in his voice.

_Taste me you will see_

_More is all you need_

_Dedicated to_

_How I'm killing you_

Thorn by indecision, Shirou faced Shinji. "Shinji, stop this! If Sakura dies, even if it's you, I will never forgive you!"

_Come crawling faster_

_Obey your Master_

_Your life burns faster_

_Obey your Master_

_Master_

"Shinji! I told you to stop, damn it!" Both Shirou and Zouken went after Shinji. Assassin tripped Shirou and slashed at Zouken with a saber that he seemingly took from inside his cloak.

"Geez, what killjoys you guys are, can't you even wait for the chorus to end?" He turned his sight to the pit. Sakura had already fainted and the worms were nervous enough that they were constantly drawing blood from her, blood which they hungrily went after. It was enough. "They're at the point. Do it, Assassin." He dodged a wild swing from Shirou.

Assassin kicked Zouken, who fell on his back outside the room. He then took a sac from inside his cloak and threw it on the pit's direction, after that quickly drawing a pistol and shooting the sac. A cloud of some sort of dust descended on the pit. "It's done, Master."

As the dust touched the worms, a nightmarish sound, some sort of hellish shriek escaped from them, it was only partially drowned by the music that was still going on.

_Blinded by me _

_You can't see a thing_

_Master_

_Master_

_Just call my name cause I'll hear you scream_

_Master, master, master…_

By the time the solo started no more sound was coming from the pit. "See, Emiya? I'm your friend. Go on, it's safe now, the princess needs the prince." Shirou didn't say anything and merely rushed for the stairs that led into the pit. He hoped Sakura was still okay.

Assassin finally let Zouken into the chamber. "Shinji, damn you, what do you think you're doing? You want to completely wreck my plans?" He glared at him with murderous intent.

If Zouken thought that Shinji was going to look down, apologize and act submissively as always, he was very wrong. Shinji frowned at him with disgust. "Shut up, old man, your plans suck, and this is no time to talk about mine." He pointed at Shirou, who was ascending from the pit with Sakura in his arms. Zouken didn't avert his glare. If a look could kill, Shinji would be a corpse.

_Master, master_

_Promised only lies_

_Laughter, laughter_

_All I hear or see is laughter_

_Laughter, laughter_

_Laughing at my cries_

Shirou stopped just behind Shinji and glared at Zouken. "You're the one who did this to Sakura, aren't you?" Parent or not, Shirou was not about to forgive that old man. He concentrated on the Command Spell engraved in his hand and started to call for Rider.

"Whoa there, don't rush yourself, Emiya." He threw his palm at Shirou's throat, interrupting and making his stumble back coughing. "Let's not turn this into a battle between Servants. I don't terribly mind having Assassin protect you from the old man, but I'd hate to have to protect him from your Servant. Would leave a bad taste in my mouth, see?"

There was no mirth in the laughter coming from Zouken. "Hehe, so you have no love for your grandfather, I see. Well that makes sense, I've never given you any, it'd be only… Hey, why are you ignoring me?"

'click' The music ended. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's just that I was thinking about how since your vocal chords must be rotten, it explains that you can't speak loud enough to be heard over the music."

"Huh, what disrespect. A useless father, it should have been obvious that he would only have an even more useless son. At the very least you should have shut up and be a mildly useful pawn like Kariya."

Shinji's face darkened at the mention of his uncle. "Fuck you. Assassin." He made a gesture with his head towards the pit. Assassin cut Zouken in his mid-section, then kicked both parts into the pit. The old man continued to spit curses from down there.

Shirou watched all of that unfold in silence, but he kept glaring at Shinji. He passed by wordlessly and headed to the exit of the chamber. "Not a single thank you? How ungrateful you are, Emiya. Even though I helped you save my dear little sister. One last thing!" Shirou stopped by the exit, but did not turn back. "Grab something with which to cover my sister, it's shameful to carry her naked around." Shirou didn't answer. It was obvious.

Assassin was silent up until Shirou vanished from sight. "What now, Master?" It wasn't a question, so much as a confirmation of what they had already probably agreed.

"Now we wait. Patience will likely eventually reward us with another opportunity." He walked to the border and looked at the upper part of Zouken crawling to the stairs. "Don't worry, crappy old man, I'll bring you a corpse for you to possess. Eventually." He walked back to the CD player and pressed the play button again.

_Master of puppets _

_I'm pulling your strings_

_Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams…_

He hummed along the rest of the song.

* * *

What she going to do? When Shirou had finally arrived, Rin wanted to first scold him, then have a serious talk about what they were going to do from then on. Unfortunately that wasn't possible. Shirou entered the house with a face as grim she had ever seen. Sakura was unconscious in his arms, nothing but a bed sheet covering her. Rin tried to ask him but he said nothing. Neither Rider nor Saber were able to pry an answer from him.

"I need to think, leave me alone!" Was the most any of them got from him. At least they were able to get him to leave Sakura's side when they were going to change her.

As the sun was setting, it was quite the awkward strategy meeting between them. It seemed as if Shirou was forbidding any of them to talk. Rin was the first to defy that. "I think I have an idea of where a Master might be, maybe it would be a good idea if…"

"Rider and I are staying tonight to protect Sakura." He didn't even let Rin finish.

At that, Rin lost her patience. "Look, I don't know what happened with you and Sakura, but if you don't talk about it then obviously I won't know it!" She banged on the table with her hand.

Shirou replied with an even louder bang. "Of course you don't know! You're unrelated!" He kept his gaze firm, not backing down, despite the insensitive remark.

Rin opened her mouth then closed it. _Of course I'm related! Sakura is my… _But could she even say it? It wasn't like they were sisters by any standard but blood. She didn't even know what had just happened to Sakura. Frustration was starting to boil over. "Fine, so something happened! Why such a reaction? You can't simply abandon the offensive like that."

Shirou stood up. "Tohsaka. You weren't there."

It took a lot of effort from Rin not to draw blood by biting her own lip. _I can't change that now! Why don't you tell me? _But that would just make the argument full-circle, instead she swallowed her frustration and conceded. "Okay, I understand. At least make sure that you take care of Sakura."

"You don't need to tell me that."

* * *

As she left for her reconnaissance at 10 o'clock, Rin couldn't help but pity Fujimura-sensei. She had no idea what was going on but was still roughly sent away by a merciless and angry Shirou. "Go get dinner on your own." That was probably also the first time she saw Shirou like that. Probably that was the first time that Shirou was so angry with something.

Well, Rin was sure that he would eventually tell her at least part of what happened. It did her no good to worry about it right then. She was going out into enemy territory after all. She couldn't afford to worry about other things as she went to the battlefield. "Saber, let's go."

It was merely a theory, but she hoped it was right. All of the comas caused around town had to be a Servant's work. However, there's no way that it wasn't being done from a place of advantage. Even a Servant, without some kind of help, would use up more energy by gathering at a distance than could be absorbed.

The first possibility was Ryudou Temple, but a preliminary investigation turned up nothing. After the school she approached the place with the pretext of tormenting the Student Council president, but she could neither glean any kind of information from Ryudou-kun's comments nor sense any sign that a powerful Magus inhabited the Temple. After all, the Servant could only be Caster, the Magus Servant.

The second possibility, however, was more of a shot in the dark, a desperate attempt of finding the enemy. After all she was relying on rumors to support. Many witnesses reported seeing strange sparks coming from plugs or electric wires before people fell into a coma. So maybe, just maybe, very, very improbably, the Servant might have been using the city's electrical grid to accumulate the power. Even she knew how ridiculous that sounded, but it was the best she could come up with. Still, if it was right, then there would be only one place that they could be: The city's electric substation.

Fuyuki wasn't such a big city so it had one big main substation to distribute energy to the whole city. As she and Saber arrived, Rin was almost completely sure that this was the right place; the ominous aura that she didn't find in Ryudou Temple could be found in spades here.

"Rin, I can feel a Servant." Saber said calmly.

"Bingo." She wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad about that.

They climbed the fence and entered the facility easily enough, however, Rin couldn't help but feel uneasy with all of the wires hanging over them. It was as if… "Watch out, Rin. Things are getting dangerous from this point on."

* * *

Saber had a bad feeling about this. She didn't know why, but her instincts were screaming. _Run away, this place is dangerous._ It was determined that their opponent was probably Caster, which was possibly the best matchup she could ask for, as Caster would probably be unable to harm her in any way due to her magic resistance.

Still, she felt unease approaching that field. S if there were point where she could not stand for long. "Saber, try to approach the building." The substation's building wasn't very big and it wasn't very far either, but Saber felt that she had to act cautiously.

She experimented entering the area that she felt to be dangerous and quickly stepped away. Lightning coming from the wires struck the ground where she was. "That's magic… I shouldn't be afraid of magic." But she felt that getting hit by it was a bad idea. She closed her eyes and calmly analyzed the trap in front of her. She knew the safest route.

She ran and leapt where necessary, lightning danced around Saber, but never touched her. She was almost there when she suddenly realized it. She fell for it, there was nowhere to run. "Too bad." Lightning struck her and she let a gasp escape. "If this was a fair maze you would have won, miss." Two men emerged from the building, probably Servant and Master.

"How come, I am being affected?" She didn't feel that there was anything wrong with her magic resistance, so why?

"Oh, so you have great magic resistance, then…" It was the man with a tidy mustache that was speaking. "Frederick! Looks like we caught ourselves a big fish, I think this is Saber."

"I see… She might make a good battery. Lots of magical energy or so I heard."

* * *

The situation was catastrophic. Still, how was Saber being affected by the lightning? "What is going on? How did you guys take my Saber down?"

The man with the mustache turned to her, somehow he was terribly familiar. "Oh, talking about her magic resistance, right? That's simple, no magic was cast directly on her." Huh? "It is quite disappointing really, you Magus People. Just because you have this wondrous kind of energy, you all are so terribly inefficient about it. I just armed enough mines on the ground to create conditions in which a current could come from a wire to the point on the ground. I made it a maze too, so I could just make something that cannot be dodged at the end. Your Servant fell for it because she was paying too much attention to the pre-made attractors." The man spoke with a blasé that was almost frightening. "Though I guess since it is a physical phenomenon, it cannot deliver the killing blow to a Servant."

There was still something bothering Tohsaka though. "Are you not the Servant Caster?"

The man bowed. "The one and only, missy. Though I'm afraid that my Master and I are too engrossed in our research to pay much attention to the War that is going on." She stashed that information, it could be useful later.

"Then are you not a Magus?" It made no sense if he wasn't. Caster had to be a Magus. "You said: You Magus People."

The man smiled. "I'm afraid I am no Magus. Just look closely at my face, it should be recognizable. Or are you going to tell me that that bastard Edison's campaign to besmirch my name was that good?"

It all made sense now. Of course he was not a Magus, of course he manipulated electricity like his toy. The man in front of Tohsaka Rin was the non-Magus closest to a sorcerer that the world had seen: Nikola Tesla. Things were bad, she had to run away, but how to free Saber?

A voice nearby gave her the answer, but she didn't like it very much. "It would hurt me if Saber were to be imprisoned right now, could you please let her go?" The voice belonged to Matou Shinji.

Caster turned to him. "Oh? If you're asking that of me, then you have a good reason. So you want to me to easily part with my newly acquired battery? I wouldn't need to attack any more people in the city if I had her, can't you think of the city's inhabitants?" He spoke calmly as if he was discussing by a fireplace.

Shinji quickly dismissed his response. "No can do, I'm the Master of Assassin, if you don't let Saber go in five minutes I can't guarantee your master's life."

Caster sighed. "Fine, I don't want to jeopardize our research on behalf of a mere battery." He released the lightning that kept stunning Saber. She staggered back to Rin's side. "Don't come back here, we just want to research, next time I won't have mercy." He turned back and entered the building.

Shinji smiled triumphantly at Tohsaka. "Don't expect me to thank you." She regarded him with disdain. "That was quite a bluff."

Shinji chuckled. "First of all, of course I won't expect any thank you from Tohsaka Rin, surely you could escape that situation on your own, eh?" Rin averted her gaze. "Second, that wasn't a bluff." Assassin materialized beside Shinji. "Also, how's Emiya doing?"

As he said that, it didn't take too long for Rin to add two and two. "It was you! Shinji, what did you do to Shirou and Sakura?" She would have grabbed him by the collar if Assassin hadn't out himself between them.

Shinji acted innocent. "Me? Wait. I see… Emiya is really depressed, isn't he? Well, he should be, after that blunder, really. He could have killed Sakura you know? Lucky thing I was there to salvage the situation."

_So the reason he was feeling so depressed was that it was his fault that Sakura was like that? _It couldn't be. But wait, it made sense, he seemed like he was one of those with a huge sense of guilt. Rin wanted to say something to defend Shirou, but she couldn't.

"Anyway, good thing I was passing by. Don't mind me. You don't have to owe me one if you don't want to. I just don't want my schoolmate to lose like this." With that he left.

It probably wasn't Shirou's fault. That's what Tohsaka wanted to believe. So why, why did it make so much sense when she put the blame on him? That could also be why he refused to talk about it. "No, don't start distrusting him now… Idiot." She could tell herself that, but it was as if she had been poisoned somehow.

5th Day end

* * *

**So ends this chapter. Of course i don't own the rights for "Master of Puppets" by Metallica, but i thought it'd be cooler this way. Anyway, here's the Stat Sheet for Caster ****(or what is known by Shirou and Rin, sort of).**

**General)**

**Master: Frederick Feuerbach**

**True Name: Nikola Tesla**

**Alignment: Lawful Good**

**Strength: E**

**Endurance: D**

**Agility: D**

**Magical Energy: E**

**Luck: E**

**Noble Phantasm: C**

**Class abilities)**

**Territory Creation A: Actually not in use, since Nikola Tesla was not a Magus, therefore he is unable to make use of this class ability.**

**Tool Creation A: Creation of tools that carry magical energy.**

**Details)**

**Tesla was one of the foremost researchers in the use of electricity. If it wasn't for him, Edison's inferior direct current would possibly be used instead of alternating current. Most likely you wouldn't be reading this if it wasn't for Tesla. Really, go read on the guy as he was pretty much a genius and quite deserving to be called one of the closest people that the real world has to a Magus.**

**Skills)**

**Visualization A: He can easily visualize the structure of anything that he comes up with, facilitating in its creation.**

**Efficiency B: His expertise at making use of energy cuts severely the cost of any spells or magic cast by him.**

**Understanding A: How fast one analyses new technical information. He is adept at absorbing even the most complex information in a small time frame.**

**Noble Phantasm)**

**?**


	8. 6th Day part 1

6th Day – Part 1 – Guilt

Fault. My fault. It's my fault. Shirou wasn't even sure anymore if it was just his own voice or the world shouted it in his ears. He was dreaming. Dreaming of Sakura being swallowed by a swarm of worms, terror stamped in her face. And it's your fault! Everything seemed to be telling him that. It's because you weren't paying attention. She was smiling for you, but that was because she couldn't do it at home, and you were unable to realize that. You were her hope but you betrayed it. How can you call yourself a hero of justice?

The condemnation came over and over. _But what else could I have done? What can I do?_ It was a plea for an answer, an answer for the anguish that he felt. He failed Sakura completely, what could he do now? No. He didn't fail her completely, she was still alive. All he had to do was protect her. But how? _How can I protect her? _

_Call on us._ _Make us._ A strange sensation came over him. Shirou looked down. Blades. Blades as far as he could see. His body was made of blades. Panic flooded him.

* * *

Emiya Shirou woke up sweating and panting. What kind of dream was that? He looked at the clock, it was still before six.

"Shirou! Are you alright?" It seemed that Rider reacted to her Master's anxiousness, opening hurriedly the division between their rooms.

Shirou tried to be reassuring. "It's nothing. I just didn't have a very good dream." Strictly speaking, that was the truth.

Rider's expression grew more concerned. "Don't lie to me, whatever that happened yesterday is still torturing you, is it not?" It was awkward. Shirou wanted to be angry and steer the conversation from that but he couldn't, not now that he was calmer and keeping it to himself would be simply childish.

"I… Just give me a little more time, please. I'll talk about it after breakfast." The look that rider gave him suggested that she would hold him to his word.

Shirou quickly went to wash his face, then went to the outbuilding, there Sakura should still be sleeping. On the way he met with Tohsaka, they just nodded to each other in acknowledgement. The important part was Sakura, was she okay?

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that her face's color seemed okay. She wasn't smiling, but her face seemed peaceful as she slept. For a few moments, Shirou lost himself merely watching her. Suddenly she opened her eyes slowly.

"Huh? Senpai? Why is Senpai waking me up?" She said in a drowsy voice. She wasn't completely awake. "I'm glad, that Senpai is waking me up." Her smile was so warm that Shirou even forgot for a moment the immense guilt that was weighing him down.

"Yeah, I'm waking you up."

That moment was not to last, however, as when Sakura completely woke up, she realizes the situation. "No!" With a cry she pushed Shirou back, who fell from the chair on which he was sitting. "You, you saw me Senpai. You saw how dirty, how defiled I am." It wasn't an accusation. She spoke in between sobs as a lament. "Don't come near me."

"Sakura…" He wanted to do something. He wanted to convince her, he wanted to tell her. No matter how many worms or other vermin attacked her, she would never be dirty in his eyes.

But first of all, he had to do something about that angry Rin that was attacking him. "What are you doing to Sakura?" The cry really didn't make the situation easy.

"No, Tohsaka, you're wrong?"

"Eh, Tohsaka-Senpai?"

"Wrong? No girl cries like that unless she's being attacked by a monster or something! Heavenly punishment!"

He had to do something about the whole situation before it got even more out of hand.

"Shirou, how can you assault a defenseless woman? As a knight, I cannot let such unsightly behavior happen without consequences."

"I'm disappointed in you, Shirou. Even if you might be my Master, I can't really condone such actions. Prepare to reflect on them."

That was it. He was done for. His adventure was rapidly coming to an end. He made peace with his creator and thought to himself his last wish. _Please, at least make this quick and painless._

"Eh, Senpai? Senpai!" At least the last thing he would get to see was Sakura's worried face. She looked so cute.

DEAD END

Just kidding.

It took some time until Shirou finally got them to settle down and stop attacking him. Even though he had promised to talk with them after breakfast, the result was that they were now all siting at the table. Three women were applying enough pressure to freeze boiling water with their looks alone. The other was acting awkwardly, not really knowing what to do.

"So, are you going to explain exactly what has just happened, Emiya-kun? While you're at that, I would also really like to know what happened yesterday. You know, since you refused to say anything and were even quite indelicate." Rider and Saber nodded in agreement. Shirou looked at Sakura for some sort of support, but she just blushed and looked away. The glares got even more intense. _That isn't helping…_

He took a deep breath and started explaining from what happened the day before. He talked about how the Servant, Assassin, knocked Rin unconscious to talk with Shirou. Then he explained how the Servant's Master was Shinji and how he said that he needed Shirou's help for Sakura. He declined to give any details on the scene in the Matou's worm chamber, for which he got an awkward smile of gratitude from Sakura. Then he talked about how he was just too angry and frustrated to think straight as he went back home. He hoped it would suffice.

"Well, I guess we'll have to accept this information on yesterday for now, even if it omits the most important part." Rider and Saber nodded. "However! That still leaves Sakura's cry unexplained." Rider and Saber nodded. _Damn you, Rider, you traitor._ The glares continued.

It was Sakura who saved him. "Umh, you're wrong Tohsaka-Senpai. Senpai just happened to be there as I woke up from a terrible nightmare, he didn't do anything." As if to prove her point, she smiled. Shirou felt as if something had just clenched his heart.

Rin finally relented. "Fine, we'll leave it at that then. Wait. It took quite a while from when I saw you pass by me to Sakura's cry. Could it be…" That damned smile was back. "You have a fetish or something for watching a woman's sleeping face?" She suppressed a giggle and Sakura blushed scarlet.

"That cannot be Rin." Rider calmly put forth her rebuttal. "After all, he vehemently rejected the idea of both of us sleeping in the same room. Even if the stated objective was for me to protect him, there's no way he should let pass an opportunity to satisfy his needs." Rin burst out laughing. Rider and Saber looked impassive. Sakura opened and closed her mouth as if trying to say something.

"Don't say it like that! It sounds weird." Shirou tried to do some damage control, but it was useless.

"Maybe, haha, it's only, haha, Sakura's face, haha, that he wants to see?" It seemed like a sacrifice to her, but Rin stopped her laughter enough to deliver that killing blow. Sakura seemed like she was going to pass out, from how red her face was.

"Damn you, Tohsaka!" He would never recover his dignity like that.

At least the ridiculousness of the situation diminished the tension. _That was probably for the better. _Or so Shirou wanted to keep thinking. In the end he was making breakfast along with Sakura.

"It was just a nightmare."

She turned to him, slightly confused. "Senpai?"

"It was all just a nightmare, I'll make sure you never see it again, okay?" He gave her his best reassuring smile.

Sakura lowered her head and replied softly. "Okay."

_You think it'll go that well? _Shirou gritted his teeth as an image of Shinji popped in his head, it felt like he was being mocked. He wasn't sure how, but Shinji seemed different than usual. As if he was more dangerous. _Idiot, leave that for later. _For now he was making breakfast with Sakura.

After the breakfast was the time for a strategy meeting. Tohsaka was the one starting it. "Well, now would be the time when we would be discussing what to do, but I guess first of all we owe some sort of explanation to Sakura." She stated it clearly that they were participants in the war, Saber being Rin's Servant and Rider being Shirou's.

"Ah, I know. Grandfather and Nii-Sama talked about it. I, uh, I apologize for the trouble that Nii-Sama has caused." Sakura lowered her head in apology. Both Rin and Shirou dismissed it awkwardly.

"You know, it's not something you should have to apologize for Sakura." Shirou nodded in agreement with Tohsaka. "But still, that Shinji, I have a feeling that he's going to give us trouble. That was quite unexpected." She talked about him as if she had discovered that a bee was actually a hornet. "What is his Servant like, anyway? Shirou, you saw him in action, didn't you?"

Shirou nodded, they weren't very good memories, but were deeply engraved in him. "I saw him using a small knife, a pistol and a sword. I don't think any of them were his Noble Phantasm, but he seemed quite skilled in his use of them. I think he's also good at dealing with poisons." Rin nodded, but this information wasn't all that useful, such skills were to be expected of an Assassin. "If it helps, he seemed to wear clergymen clothes."

"Not much actually, there were quite a few people from the church that could be good candidates for being Assassin. But then again, if he's not Hassan, then there's already something wrong."

They kept discussing about the enemy Servants. "Yes, you're right, Berserker's dragon form probably drains a lot of energy from the summoner, but I don't think that's a problem for that little girl. We have to think of a way to deal with that ridiculous armor of his."

They kept talking, trying to make sense of their enemies' abilities. "Anyway, what is up with that Archer? He uses a bunch of different weapons from different times. He even ran away on a jet? How ridiculous is that? How are we supposed to know what is his Noble phantasm?"

They kept on going, until they were nearing the end of their collective knowledge about the enemy Servants. "Well, I guess the only one we haven't seen yet was Caster, right Tohsaka?"

Rin was looking like she felt uncomfortable. "That is untrue, Shirou, we have confronted Caster. Yesterday." It was Saber who said it.

"Saber!"

Yes, it was embarrassing the way we were beaten up, but we did end up with our enemy's identity." Rin's face showed mostly frustration, but she did not deny Saber's words.

"Really, who was Caster?"

Rin's face grew graver. "It's probably something even more ridiculous than what we talked about until now. Nikola Tesla. One of the most important men in the development of electrical infrastructure and a bunch of other things. He's not even a Magus, how can he be Caster?" She seemed to have started to rant more than explain. "That he was a genius in his field is hardly disputable, but I suddenly thought of it: What if a scientific researcher of that caliber gained knowledge of Magic? He might have claimed that all he wanted to do was to research. But I have a bad feeling about him." That concluded it.

They looked at the clock. It was past seven. "Whoa, look at the time. Tohsaka, don't you think we should be going to school?"

Rin considered for a moment. "Actually I was thinking it might be better to stop going to school for now. But I'm still worried about what Shinji might do." They'd have to work it out.

In the end they decided to stay home. Since the situation wasn't completely clear, it was probably better if they stayed on the defensive until the night.

After they realized what had been missing, the news provided the necessary information: Fujimura was among the people who were recently drained by Caster, which was why she was absent. Shirou felt it might be slightly cruel but he silently thanked Caster for making an explanation unneeded, at least for now.

He felt like he needed to do something though. Just lazing around all day would do him no good, perhaps he'd talk with Tohsaka about magic, or maybe he'd ask for some training with Saber or Rider.

* * *

Matou Shinji let a frown appear in his face as he realized that Emiya and Tohsaka weren't coming to school. _What is the point in me being here? Damn it. _He started to walk away from the school's gate but stopped after a few paces. _That Mitsuzuri bitch is there, I could have some fun with her._

With a click of the tongue Shinji drove the thought away. Assassin had told him that attacking her was a bad idea, after all no matter how aggravating he felt her to be, it could only harm the righteousness of his vengeance if he attacked defenseless people on a whim. He might not like it, but he saw the point.

It was a wasted day then, at that point. His plan hadn't matured to the point where storming the Emiya household was either feasible or meaningful. Going back home and indirectly tormenting the crappy old man it was. He couldn't touch Shinji, not as long as Shinji had Assassin, but he hardly counted as defenseless.

Shinji let out a sigh, but he quickly swallowed it as he realized Assassin was trying to catch his attention with a sense of urgency. "What is it?" He had an idea.

"A Servant, Master, closer than I'd like it to be." Assassin's voice had an edge to it but he remained composed.

Shinji thought for a moment. It was in broad daylight, but the road to the school after classes had started wasn't all that crowded. While Masters customarily fought at night, so long as there were no witnesses any time was fair game.

"How close?" He asked as he prepared a simple binding spell. He knew that the pain of using it would be excruciating, but he'd rather have some insurance that he would be able to escape alive an encounter with whoever it could be.

"They should be coming into view any time now." With his presence still concealed, Assassin materialized, preparing to ambush any fool that carelessly charged his Master. He expected something of the sort, since they approached so brazenly, as if they were walking in the park.

No such attack came. The Master and Servant and merely kept walking as they came into view. First was the woman. _And what a woman. _Shinji couldn't help himself from thinking so.

She had a slightly wavy dark hair, she wore an elegant one piece white dress that clung enough that it gave any who looked a good idea of her many curves. The dress showed enough of her above average cleavage that it became a sort of black hole for men's looks. Because of her high heels she was quite taller than Shinji, she would probably still be a little over him without them. At the very least she wasn't dressed for a fight.

The Servant coming behind her attracted attention in his own way, what with the old fashioned clothes and all. Archer whistled carelessly as if he was oblivious to Assassin. Now that Shinji thought about it, he probably was. That was a good opportunity, he could have Assassin kill the woman… He paused his thought. Two trains of thought were in conflict inside of him. On one hand, he had such an easy opportunity in front of him, on the other hand, he didn't feel like having Assassin simply kill such a fine woman. He was startled as the woman suddenly stopped and started laughing.

"What? Trying to decide whether this is a trap? Or are you too entranced by me?" It took a moment for Shinji to register that she was talking to him.

He flexed his knees, ready to dodge whatever she or Archer threw at him, Assassin tensed and slowly approached the enemy. "What do you want?" He said it calmly enough, but it was harder to hide the blush that appeared on his face.

"Don't worry, that was on purpose." She ignored Shinji's question. "Not to sound arrogant, but I've always been told that whenever I put my mind to it, I can charm any man." She talked in a manner akin to how some might talk with a complete stranger in an elevator.

"What do you want?" Shinji repeated the question, more because he just wasn't sure of what to say. Assassin was close enough that he could kill her equally fast with a bullet or a knife. All he needed was an order.

Archer coughed and nonchalantly put himself between Assassin and his Master, was that a coincidence? "I apologize for my Master teasing you, Matou Shinji. But believe me when I say that we merely wish to talk with you." Somehow, the smile Archer gave him irritated Shinji to no end, it felt like that of a sleazy salesman.

"And if I refuse to talk?" Fine, he felt testy anyway, since Emiya and Tohsaka didn't show up he'd have to compensate somehow.

Archer shrugged. "We'll just have to make you." A strange blue portal appeared behind him, from where he pulled a shotgun and pointed directly at Assassin. Shinji froze. _Did he know? _Nobody did anything for a few seconds, then Archer lowered his weapon. "Wrong place? I knew my instincts were bad." He let out a sigh.

_Was that just luck then? _Shinji repressed an incredibly large urge to shout that out. "Just use something more… Area effective, Archer." The portal appeared again. The shotgun disappeared and Archer pulled a grenade launcher from the portal. "How about a talk, now? Actually, can you just tell your Servant to stop concealing himself, please? It's un-com-for-ta-ble, Shinji-kun." The woman spoke in an increasingly cutesy voice.

_Curses, woman, you won't… Charm me with your charms, or your... _Shinji realized that there was no way for his look to move to her breasts, the whole time his eyes were glued. "Damn it, talking is all you want, right?" He shot a furtive glance to Assassin, who started to move to Shinji.

The woman smiled and shot a naughty look at him. "You know, depending on what we agree on, there might be more than talking to be done." She blew him a kiss.

_Control yourself, Matou Shinji! You're hardly a novice when it comes to women. _Even though his only experience came from pushing down his sister, he still felt like he had some kind of pride to protect. He gave her a calm enough answer. "Fine, let us talk, Assassin, stop hiding." Assassin showed himself.

It was Archer who looked delighted. "Wonderful! Let us head to a café then, so we can discuss things as proper gentlemen. I think I saw a nice looking one during my adventures, follow me."

Assassin nodded in agreement. "Yes, talking at a café is proper of gentlemen." They started to walk together silently.

* * *

By the time that they arrived at the café, the streets weren't quite as crowded, so they didn't have much problem finding a place to sit.

"Now that I think about it, I don' know your name." Shinji had all that time to put himself under control, he managed it somehow.

"Fair enough, I am Carmen de Castro, though I doubt that this name means anything to you, Matou Shinji." It really didn't, but it was nice to be able to put a name to the pair of… He meant the woman. "The one doing the talking will be Archer."

Archer put down the cup of coffee that he was sipping. "I'll try to be direct with you. First of all, do you have any idea of the danger of triggering a more intimate relationship between Matou Sakura and Emiya Shirou?" His tone was all business.

"Can't say I do, unless you mean the danger of them shagging, considering that she has the hots for him." A frown escaped Archer as Shinji used the tasteless word.

"Well yes, that is part of it. It would take too long to explain, but all you need to know is that if she receives any sort of meaningful human interaction, things could get quite dangerous, for all of us." He didn't look like he was lying.

It didn't take Shinji too long to realize that it made sense. "So the crappy old man did something stupid to her, I take it?" That certainly was like Zouken.

Archer smiled. "It's good that you are smart, Matou Shinji. This makes things fast. Plainly speaking, completely eliminating Matou Zouken would be the end of this problem." He sat back in his chair and crossed his fingers. "If I interpret your dislike of Matou Zouken correctly, that would also be your objective, but you don't have the means with which to do it. Am I wrong?" He nonchalantly picked up the cup of coffee.

Shinji considered it for a moment. He certainly would like to be rid of the creepy old man, but he didn't feel comfortable going along with other people's plans, that was after all one of the reasons that he wanted to eliminate Zouken. "So… What? You're going to give me the means with which to kill Zouken so long as I go along with something else?" That was his best guess.

Archer choked on the coffee that he was sipping as if taken by complete surprise. "Heavens, no! I wouldn't dream of giving someone anything with the condition that they do something else." He took on a more explanatory tone. "You see, even though I'm participating in this War, I'm a salesman at heart, so I merely wish to sell you some of my wares, if it just happens to be something able to kill someone that you want to kill, hey, things happen, eh?" He gave Shinji a wink as if he had just told a joke.

"So…" he was just checking that he understood it right. "You want to sell me the means with which I can kill Matou Zouken, but you don't need any guarantees that I will actually do the deed?"

"Exactly. Oh boy, I know I've told you this before, but you really do understand everything. So, how about it, deal?" He held out his hand.

Shinji almost let himself get carried away by the flattery, but got brought back to earth by Assassin's cough. He stopped before taking Archer's hand. "What are the terms of the deal?"

Archer gave a sly smile. "Of course, it's hard to agree with something before you know the details." He raised three fingers. "Three transactions. First, I will give you information needed to kill him and parts of the arms. Second, I will receive your payment. Third, I will give you the rest of the arms. Is that acceptable?"

Shinji came this far, should he really trust Archer, it was after all a one-time transaction. He looked at Assassin, who had been quiet the whole time. Suddenly he entered the conversation. "We want to inspect the wares before the transactions take place, is that acceptable, Archer?" The offer was really tempting, it was no wonder that, if Archers claims were true, that both and Shinji wanted to accept.

Archer shrugged. "Sure, I always let my clients inspect my wares to prove their quality. I'd show them to you right now, but I don't think that they are something to be shown in public." _You're not something to be shown in public. _Shinji resisted to urge to say that. "Am I correct in assuming, then, that you are satisfied with my conditions?" He held out his hand once again.

Assassin stopped Shinji for a second time. "What is the payment that you require?"

Archer looked confused for a moment. "The only thing that can be used as currency in this War, of course! Magical Energy. I suppose that you know how you're going to transfer that to my Master, eh boy?" It didn't take Shinji too long to realize what Archer meant.

"So that's what you meant by there being more than talking to be done if I agreed." Carmen blew him another kiss.

She took a paper from her purse and quickly scribbled something on it. "I will be waiting for you here if you want to take me up on my offer. You have until nightfall to decide." She gave it to Shinji, it was the address of a hotel and a room number.

* * *

**I swear that the whole dead end joke was a much a surprise for me as it might be for you, no really, damn thing just popped in my head. The whole sistuation.**


	9. 6th Day part 2

6th Day – Part 2 – Acquisition

Shirou felt sore all over, however that sort of paled in comparison of the strange burning sensation he felt after Tohsaka had made him swallow that jewel. He didn't really feel like patrolling, but he had promised Tohsaka and Rider. Rider particularly seemed like she wanted to see some action.

He had spent most of the day either getting beat up trying to land a blow on Saber or beat up trying to shoot something while Rider tried to beat him up at random intervals. She said it was training for archery during combat. He hoped it actually helped him become more useful.

As night fell, he switched to magic training, which mainly consisted of swallowing the aforementioned jewel. Discounting the uncomfortable feeling he was getting, he really felt like he had better access to his Magic Circuits.

They still hadn't found out where was Archer's and Lancer's Masters' bases. Rin suggested that they look for them in Shinto, so that's where they would be patrolling this night.

After dinner, after reassuring Sakura repeatedly that they would be safe, they left for the patrol. They had no idea of what would happen.

* * *

It all went without a hitch. After all, the bomb that Archer had ready was enough to kill everyone involved if either side tried to take more or less than negotiated. Assassin made sure that both he and Archer had access to the trigger. Well, even without it he sounded confident enough to Shinji the he could kill Archer and his Master.

Shinji was less happy after the deed than he thought he would be. There were certainly downsides to that implantation of artificial Circuits. That could have been the only explanation.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's just because you were too accustomed to pushing down women that you took that long." Carmen was talking in a mockingly understanding tone.

"Fuck you, where's the rest of the weapons?" He wasn't in the mood to be made fun of. It had to have been because he knew the Servants were around, or something, damn it.

She let out a chuckle as she dressed herself. "Aggressive, aren't we? Was I dissatisfactory in any way? Perhaps you can only be satisfied by a flesh doll like your sister, eh?" She kept throwing verbal barbs at him.

"Are you trying to provoke me into attacking?" Shinji took a deep breath, it would not do now to attack in such a situation that he was weakened and she strengthened.

"Nope." Her voice took a more serious tone. "I'm just testing you a bit. I guess Assassin really was good for you, normally you would have blown up and made a mistake by now."

"Huh?" What did that woman know of him? How could she talk like that?

"Nothing." As they were both fully clothed she called the Servants. "Archer, it's done. Bring the wares." After a while, both Archer and Assassin materialized.

Archer threw a knowing glance at Shinji, Assassin was silent. "Well, then, here's the part that really matters, eh?" He conjured a suitcase from his portal and put it on top of a table.

Shinji and Assassin peered inside as Archer opened it. "So, what is it after all?" Inside was an unusual gun and a bullet of unusual caliber.

Archer took the gun from the suitcase. "This, my friends, is a veritable Magus killer." He opened the gun, showing the only chamber, where the bullet no doubt slid in. "According to my sources, this will cut and then incorrectly reform any Magus' Magic Circuits."

"What, the gun?" if that was true, then it was a powerful gun indeed.

"Wrong. The bullet. But rest assured that if you shoot it at Matou Zouken's body, then it will crumple. No big deal. As for the soul receptacle, the shotgun I gave you previously should suffice."

Shinji considered it for a moment, the bargain seems to have been successfully fulfilled. So long as what Archer had said about that bullet was true, then an infinity of possibilities lied in front of Shinji, every single one of them ending in the sweet demise of Zouken. It was almost too good to be true.

"What are you going to do now, Shinji? It seems that we took so long that it's now night, but I really don't feel like knocking you out of the fight right after we sold you something." Carmen was talking casually.

_So you don't even consider that you might lose to me, huh?_ But there was another thing that bothered Shinji. "Why give that if you could have killed Zouken yourself?"

It was Archer who answered. "Risk versus reward my friend, even if we incur the risk of you not killing Matou Zouken, a risk which is present even if we do the deed ourselves, we still are not using any energy, on the contrary, we've gained reserves of Magical Energy because of your payment."

"Huh, I see." Quite the businessman he is. Shinji wondered who he was when alive. "Whatever, we're leaving." He opened the room's door and left the room, everybody was following him. "Hey, why are you two leaving with us?"

Carmen looked at him with mild bemusement. "You didn't think we had brought you to our base, did you?" Shinji opened and closed his mouth. He blushed and looked away. "Oh, you did! You're so cute." Shinji grinded his teeth. _I hope this doesn't go on for too long._

* * *

It wasn't that late so, despite the recent happenings in the city, there were some people in the streets. This didn't necessarily mean that Masters wouldn't start arming traps against each other.

Rider and Saber suddenly froze, as if sensing something.

"Shirou/Rin, there's a Servant." They spoke at the same time

"Where? Do you have an idea?"

Saber answered Rin's question by pointing at a nearby hotel. Not a very good sign. It wasn't advantageous for them to fight in a closed space, considering one of their Servants was Rider.

Rider added quickly. "It seems to be moving up. Perhaps it's going to the roof. Whatever it is that it plans to do, running away doesn't seem to be among its choices. Perhaps the Servant is trying to lure us into a trap, it's not trying to conceal its presence at all." She said it all as if analyzing possibilities.

Rin considered for a moment, and then spoke. "Maybe it's better if we wait, no matter how we decide to approach it, right now isn't a good time, since we don't have to option of climbing the building because of all the people." Shirou agreed.

"It's on the roof now. It definitely wants to set something up. Since we probably can't stop it now, let's wait."

* * *

It felt like nothing short of a miracle. Just as they were going to take the elevator, Assassin felt two Servants' presence. Of course they didn't feel his, but they most certainly did Archer's, which was good enough to mount an ambush. Fortunately it didn't take much persuasion for Archer and his Master to agree with a quick alliance.

Of course, Shinji hesitated, since two Servants together could only have meant one thing: Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin. Assassin agreed that it would be a shame to just kill them off with an ambush like that, but in the end it shouldn't matter. It wasn't a foregone conclusion that Assassin and Shinji would kill the both of them, and at the very least they could be tormented. All in all, it was quite a good situation.

Shinji and Assassin hid among the last few floors before the roof, while Archer went to do whatever it was that he did on the roof. It was all ready, all they had to do was to wait. The enemies weren't moving, so they likely were waiting for something, but didn't feel like retreating. _That's it, come to me now, little fools._

* * *

Rin, Shirou and Saber rushed inside the hotel as Rider waited outside. The plan was for them to do a two-pronged attack, from the stairs and by climbing to the roof. At first Rin was incredibly surprised by how much faith Rider seemed to be putting on her and Saber. "What if we betray you and kill Shirou?" It was a foolish question to ask.

"Simple, I will just slaughter the both of you along with the third Servant who's here. And to be honest, believe me when I say that as long as it's not Berserker, I can kill any Servant with my Noble Phantasm. You don't want to test it." She said it so much seriousness that Rin quite believed that she might just be telling the truth. Well, not that it mattered, since she didn't plan to betray Shirou.

First of all, the reason that the attack wasn't from two different sides of the building was because Shirou absolutely wanted to invade from inside the hotel. From that sprang the suggestion that Saber accompany them as protection.

The plan was that they would first take the elevator as high as they could, then take the stairs. The moment that they exited the elevator, Rider would begin to climb. The idea was that she would at least be able to distract the Servant enough for Saber and the others to enter the roof unhindered from the Stairs.

Everything went swimmingly well up until a little while after they exited the elevator. They ran for the stairs, but before Saber could so much as whisper a word of warning, something struck Rin's foot. She wasn't sure what it was but it shattered her bones. She let out a moan of pain and feel on the ground. Saber quickly put herself between the direction that the attack came from and Rin, but no more attacks came.

"Tohsaka! You okay?" Shirou knelt over her, looking concerned.

It hurt, it really, really hurt. "I… Of course not, you idiot!" She didn't mean to say that, but it just hurt so much. It didn't matter that she kept Avalon to herself and that it would likely heal soon enough. It just hurt so damn much.

Shirou winced at Rin's words, but still peered to look at her wound. "I think it was a bullet." _Of course, what else had such destructive power without magic? _Shirou took in his hand the bow that he had created with some wood from his house, it probably wouldn't be much effective there, but it was better than nothing.

Rin took a deep breath. _Think, don't get lost in the pain. _"Shirou, has Rider started to climb yet?" He nodded. That wasn't good. Someone or something else was there and it ruined their whole plan. _Wait, it could only be… _A voice confirmed her fears.

"Is it okay for all of you to just sit there waiting for my attacks? Rider must be getting to the roof by now. I wonder how long she can last alone against Archer." She didn't know the voice.

Shirou did. "Assassin, you bastard! Why is Shinji helping another Master?" Shirou seemed disturbed by Assassin's presence.

No reply came, instead a knife barely missed Shirou as Saber pulled him back. "Can't let you die here, Shirou, or this would turn into a three versus one." Saber coolly explained her action. "Damn you, villain, what honor is there in targeting the lives of Masters? Fight me fair and square!"

A laugh echoed in the corridor in reply. "That's rich. What honor is there in beating on a clearly inferior opponent you ask? I should be asking you that, Servants though both we may be. You don't truly believe that I can match up to you in a fair fight, do you?" The answer that seemed to come from every direction was unrelenting.

Saber sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. After she blocked another bullet aimed at Rin, she turned her voice to the darkness that kept tormenting them. "Fine, I shall fight with you without my armor, is that fair enough for you?" Having said that, she removed her armor.

"Saber! Don't..." Rin tried to voice her opposition, but winced as a new pang of pain emanated from her foot.

"Tohsaka, don't strain yourself." Shirou asked as he calmly put himself under her arm to help her stand up.

No more attacks were forthcoming, it seemed like their attacker was considering the proposal. "Hmm, interesting, but I don't really have any guarantees that you won't just put your armor back on after they have safely run away." The voice seemed slightly mocking.

Saber was outraged. "You dare to question a knight's word? I would never dream to break it, even if it would cost me victory in this War." Rin knew she was serious.

"Hah! That's rich." Assassin scoffed. "How much does a title really define someone's virtue if it can easily be bought?"

Saber bit her lip, obviously frustrated with it. Rin knew that she probably wanted to answer with much more wrath, but she kept calm for her and Shirou. "What do you want then? If you cannot trust my words, then there are no other guarantees that I can give you." She asked in frustration.

"You can't." Assassin paused, seemingly for effect. "But your Master can." He put enough emphasis on the word Master that everyone knew what he meant.

It was Rin's turn to be outraged. "You want me to waste a Command Spell to give you a guarantee? Are you crazy?"

Assassin took a while to answer. "Okay. Let's see for how much longer Saber can protect the two of you then." The attacks resumed.

Saber grew increasingly desperate. "Master, please do it, were just trapped like that!" It didn't occur to her that Assassin just might not keep his word. Rin knew that Saber was naïve, but to that point… Still, they didn't have much choice.

"Ugh, fine, but don't blame me if this goes wrong!" Rin shouted from sheer frustration. "Saber, for this fight with Assassin, do not use your armor." The symbol on Rin's hand glowed and part of it disappeared. "There, enough for you?"

The attacks had stopped as soon as she started saying the command's words. "Yes. Go on now, my Master wants to have a chat with the both of you." They had no choice but to trust him. Rin and Shirou started to climb the stairs, no attack came. Because of Avalon, Rin could already put some support on her left foot, but mostly she relied on Shirou, that was slightly vexing.

"Shinji." Shirou said the name under his breath with uncharacteristic hostility. Not for the first time Rin wondered. _What did happen at the Matou household?_

* * *

Rider knew the moment that Shirou stepped out of the elevator. _Time to go. _She summoned her horse and started climbing the building. As she closed in on the roof, she had a bad feeling that she should be careful. _Well, whoever it is does know that I am here. _She stopped just short of it.

She considered her choices for a second. _I can't take too long here, or else the other might get caught in a trap. _She hated to be using her horse that way, but her options weren't very numerous. She patted it on the side of its head and whispered. "I'm sorry, luck be with you." She dismounted whipped it.

The horse climbed on the roof and Rider saw it being obliterated by a hail of bullets. _Wow, that's just… Overkill. _She now knew who was her opponent at least. She climbed on the roof crouching low and quickly rolled out of the way of another hail of bullets. Without even thinking, she drew her bow and shot at the lone man she saw.

Archer wasn't fast enough to dodge it and the arrow hit him near his heart, however despite it pushing him back little more than a meter, the arrow did not pierce him.

"Ugh, this hurts, you bitch. Good thing I got this really good bullet-proof vest." Archer was surrounded by a veritable fortress of Gatling guns. "Eat lead, damn you!" A few Gatling guns started to whirr and soon they were spewing bullets.

Rider quickly jumped on another horse she summoned and dashed for the only cover she found: Behind the stairs exit. She breathed a sigh of relief as the whirring of the Gatling guns stopped.

"Come on you coward! Face me so I can give you a few new holes!" He sounded much more like a maniac now than last time. Did he get angry because she hit him with her arrow?

Rider thought of something. "Hey!" She shouted to him. "You have all of these weapons, you seem to know to operate them, but it doesn't feel like you know how to really use them." Taunting him seemed like a valid option.

The reply came with anger. "Fuck you!" Along with a grenade. Rider rode away from it and out of cover. She shot two quick arrows, one of which hit Archer again. "Damn it, stay still!" Before the Gatling guns had even started to shot again she had already breached the 'fortress' and almost trampled Archer.

"You're not very good at fighting, are you?" Rider grinned as she swung at him with her scimitar. Archer escaped once again by a hair.

He growled in frustration. "I don't need to! All I need is enough firepower." He held a bazooka in his hands and three more pointed at Rider's general direction.

"Whoa, don't you think that's a bit excessive?" She started to ride away to make some distance to dodge them.

"Die!" Every bazooka shot. A few moments later, a good part of the roof was collapsing.

* * *

Some eight floors below, Shirou and Rin faced Shinji.

"Yo, Emiya, how have you been doing? I sure have been doing well." His sarcastic tone grated on Shirou's nerves.

He managed a calm enough response. "Shinji. What are you thinking? Working with another Master?"

"Huh?" He looked as if unsure that he had listened right. "What, you think that you two are the only ones with the right to cooperate? Well, don't worry, it's just for tonight anyway. So, how about Sakura? You two hook up yet? Just don't worry if she's too loose, it's only to be expected." He said it all in an off handed manner, like commenting about the weather.

"Shinji!" Both Shirou and Rin replied angrily. Shirou grabbed Shinji by his shirt. "Don't say things like that, or else…"

"Or else what?" He pushed Shirou back. "I know you're too much of a goody two-shoes, you don't have the balls to kill me or let Rin do it either." Shinji said it with as much contempt as he could muster. "You're too soft."

Shirou bit his lips, Shinji was right, so long as all he did was provoke, Shirou didn't feel justified enough to kill him. That didn't mean he couldn't bluff. "Push me too far and let's see how much this thought holds."

Shinji laughed nervously. Perhaps it worked. "We will see… Besides I'm just telling it how it is. It's not my fault that Sakura got as loose as a whore due to all of the abuse Zouken put her through." He was grinning, looking at Rin as if waiting for a response. _Is he baiting us?_

"Damn you Shinji, stop it! You're just a disgusting bug! You could have helped Sakura, but instead made it worse for her!" Rin unleashed this abuse on Shinji with tears in her eyes. Even Shirou was taken aback by how angry she sounded.

Shinji responded in kind. "Shut up, you Tohsaka people are the last I want to hear complaining!" He pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Your father didn't even sell her. He GAVE Sakura to the Matous out of pure vanity!" Silence descended after he was done shouting.

It was quite the bomb. So Sakura was actually Rin's sister… Rin feel on her knees to the ground shivering, but the reason was probably not the revelation. "No, my father was… He was…"

"Hey, Tohsaka, are you okay?" Shirou put his hands on her shoulders trying to help her somehow.

"Oh, how genius I must be! I have two daughters who will succeed a family of prestige." Shinji's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Shut up, Shinji, why are you doing this?" Shirou wasn't sure what to do, try to help Tohsaka or shut Shinji up.

Shinji ignored Shirou's words. "Well, too bad. Zouken doesn't need heirs, he needs tools. A tool, that is all that Sakura is."

"I told you to shut up!" Shirou charged Shinji. He needed to do something to stop him.

Shinji mad a strange gesture and a magical rope appeared in his hand. It tied Shirou's legs, making him fall to the ground. Shinji tried to, but failed to suppress a grunt of pain. "Ugh, it really hurts for me to use magic. Fuck you for making me use that, Emiya." He kicked Shirou's side.

Shirou gritted his teeth and bore the pain. "Stop saying these things, why are you tormenting Tohsaka?"

Shinji sighed from exasperation. "Look, she is a sinner, just like all Tohsakas are." He talked in a tone normally reserved by a burned out teacher talking to a particularly slow student. "You see, they are too arrogant to admit their sins, the Tohsaka family, so I thought I'd do Tohsaka a favor and tell her of her family's sins, especially her father's."

_Tohsaka's father? What does Shinji mean? _"What does her father matter? Didn't he die in the last War?"

Shinji slapped Shirou's back in contempt. "Everything. Quite a lot of misfortune spilling from the last War to this one is either directly or indirectly linked to his immoral actions. Tohsaka Tokiomi was quite a wicked man indeed."

"Shut up! Stop talking badly of my father!" Shinji apparently went past Rin's breaking point. She pointed a finger at Shinji, preparing her signature Gandr spell.

"Oops, I went too far it seems." Shinji dodged the bullet like curses and took cover behind a wall. "Just remember this Emiya: Her father was the kind of person that you would go against. Are you sure you can trust Tohsaka?" He released the binding on Shirou before running away.

"Shut up! I'm going to kill you!" Rin ran with tears in her eyes to where Shinji was.

"Tohsaka, calm down!" Shirou had to hold her.

Tohsaka struggled mightily against him. "Shut up, idiot Shirou! Let go of me, I'm going to kill him, I'm going to fucking kill that asshole." She was mentally unstable; Shirou knew that if he let her go she could easily hurt herself. Not that he thought that her response was completely unreasonable, but she was in no state to fight anyone.

Shirou shook her a little. "Tohsaka, calm down. You can't fight in that condition."

"No, shut up… Please, let me go… I have to protect… Father's honor…" She spoke in between sobs and tears. At least she wasn't struggling anymore, it was the first step for her to calm down.

* * *

Saber wasn't sure whether to be worried, impressed or angered. The Servant in front of her was her equal in terms of swordsmanship. She didn't doubt that they would probably have a fair fight even if she had her armor, as she was without her armor, offensive opportunities were non-existent.

"Are you sure you are a mere Assassin?" His impressive skills weren't the only reason for her questioning. In front of her was a man with a face of undoubted European origin, but his clothes were all from the 'Orient', the middle east or farther away places seemed to be their origin. Not only that, they were all flamboyant clothes. His sword was still a European sabre. Tucked in a holster in his belt, on the left side, was a flintlock pistol, which Saber eyed warily, as his swordsmanship style was single-handed.

"Oh, this? I just prefer to use different personas depending on the situation. En garde!" He jumped in and attempted to cut her legs, but Saber parried the attack. She refrained from a counter as his left hand hovered near the pistol. Yet this was not all, he moved in a manner befitting of a duel, much more focused than Saber's style that was born out of many battles. While she always aimed to overpower and quickly kill her opponent, he had no worries and merely aimed to outlast the enemy, refraining from a deathblow unless it was certain.

Saber was growing more frustrated by the moment. "You coward! Why do you bring a long range weapon to a swordfight?" She attempted to slash him twice but Assassin gracefully dodged both attacks.

He scoffed. "Coward this, coward that. Is one a coward when one no longer has the means with which to oppose you? That's not very fair, if you ask me." He feinted and jumped back, Saber's riposte hit the air.

Saber was irritated. "Don't twist it like that." She attacked and he had to parry. "Obviously a ranged weapon is unfair in a swordfight." She attacked again, Assassin dodged and finally drew his gun, shooting twice in rapid succession.

Saber blocked both bullets without much problems, Assassin was too far to make use of the opening they created. "Hah, how unfair it is if you can block its bullets so effortlessly?" Assassin charged and they locked blades.

"Just because it is unfair, doesn't mean that it is always efficient." Saber pushed Assassin back before he could shoot from close up.

"Wow, the way people like you think is just mind-boggling." He readied his pistol to shoot again when both of them felt something that gave them pause. "Wait, Saber, do you feel that?"

"You mean the tremors from above? Or the ominous feeling from below?"

* * *

Shirou wasn't sure whether he was glad or not about the debris falling around them. On the one hand, it made Rin snap out of her downward spiral, on the other hand, it was quite possible that the both of them would get killed by a rogue piece of concrete falling from the ceiling. It started after they had gotten up a few floor, so they tried to get away from it by going back down.

The ten floors before the roof were not complete, therefore furniture was completely absent from them, so Shirou and Rin had to rely on dodging the falling pieces.

"Damn, why is this happening to me?" Rin was whining as a piece fell right next to her.

"I want to know why it is happening at all; shouldn't this building be stable already?" Shirou felt something. They really should stop running. "Tohsaka, watch out!" He pulled her back just as a hole opened in the ceiling, a few paces from them, quite a lot of debris fell.

"What the hell…?" Rin could hardly contain her surprise as Rider appeared from the hole, sitting atop a horse.

"Oh, there you are, Shirou and Rin." She stopped and quickly helped first Rin, then Shirou on her horse. She took off right after. "Okay, hang on tight, let's go."

"Wait, let's go what? What is…?" Rin face went pale as a bullet whistled past her. Color returned to her face as Shirou followed Rider's command and held tight. "Where are you holding?"

"I'm just trying not to fall off, Tohsaka." They both heard an explosion nearby.

Rin couldn't help but vent her frustration. "Ah! What is going on!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Don't worry, Rin." Rider replied loudly. "It's just that Archer a little trigger happy now that we're inside the building, so no matter how bad a shot he is, he is going to hit something."

An angry voice behind them replied. "I can hear you! Save your breath for a last prayer instead of provoking me." Shirou didn't even want to know how Archer was keeping up with Rider's horse. Well, they were inside a building after all.

They went in circles a few times around the floor, after which Archer shot open a hole to the lower floor in a particularly unstable spot. _Oh, so that's how she did it. _As soon as her horse's hooves touched the floor, all three of them felt something ominous.

Rider first went to get cover. After they heard the clang that signified that Archer was in the same floor, Rider called after him. "Hey, do you feel that?"

The answer took a while to come. "Damn, why is that stupid shadow here already? I'd rather not get devoured." It didn't look like he was still after them. "Lucky you Rider, you might get out of here alive. I have to go, see y'all." _Might get out alive? Does he think Rider can't run away?_

Rider clicked her tongue. "Next time I will get him." She asked Shirou and Rin to get off the horse and did the same herself. "Not a good idea to go down the stairs with him, you know, Saber should be in the next floor, right Rin?" Rin nodded in confirmation.

It didn't take them too long to find Saber, who had her armor on again. "Saber, are you okay, did you manage to get Assassin?"

Saber shook her head looking regretful. "We stopped our fight right after we started feeling this ominous presence, shortly after that, Assassin's Master appeared and they both fled." Shinji. Rin fleetingly bared her teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, reports are important, but let's get out of here. Whatever this presence is, it's probably not a good idea for us to stay and confront it." Rider summoned two horses. One was for her and Shirou, one for Saber and Rin.

Shirou didn't feel too comfortable simply leaving and letting that ominous presence, whatever it was, do what it wanted. But they were all mentally tired, so it was probably for the best if they left. "Let's go." He said simply.

They were riding to the nearest window when the building started to tremble all over. "Ah!" Rider said as if finally understanding something. "That bastard, that's what he meant. Archer planted bombs and is imploding the building." Saber didn't say anything, merely made her horse go faster.

They made a mad dash for the window and just as the building's collapse increased its pace, they made it out. All four of them let out a sigh of relief as the horses slowly ascended and they stopped on a nearby building's roof. Fortunately its structure was strong enough not to fall over due to the nearby implosion.


	10. 6th Day part 3

6th Day – part 3 – Acquisition (2)

Matou Shinji was really tired, but more than that, he was supremely satisfied. It really felt good to torment Tohsaka like that. All in all, he felt like he had just won the lottery.

Even if what Archer had said about the Magus-killer bullet, Shinji would still consider the day a huge plus. After all, not only did he have enormous success in tormenting Tohsaka, but Assassin also surprisingly held his ground against her vaunted Saber. _It's nice to know that criticizing her father is a berserk button. _Well it might hurt all the more because she knew it to be true, but did not wish to admit it.

He and Assassin were walking in Miyama, after successfully escaping the collapsing the hotel. Up until then, they were silent. Assassin let out a rare smile. "It's good that you are satisfied, Shinji." As he had not been asked to go into spirit form, he decided to accompany his Master on foot.

"Shinji, huh. Since when do you use my first name?" It actually didn't feel all that bad and, for the first time in a while, Shinji felt like he had a friend.

"What? I figured that since we have already enjoyed a fair amount of success together, then we'd have some sort of camaraderie bond." He stopped and bowed. "I'm sorry if it doesn't please you, Master."

Shinji felt awkward, for perhaps the first time in his life, Shinji felt uncomfortable because of respect someone showed him. "No, quite on the contrary! I think I'd rather be called like this from now on." Yes, that would be better. He felt quite in debt with his Servant, who now had a more of a comrade meaning to him now.

Assassin nodded. "It's good that we can share a bond aside from the Command Spell."

As they broke the initial ice, both reported to the other with more details on what happened. It looked quite obvious to the both of them that they had just enjoyed a major success.

"Oh, so you made Tohsaka use one of her Command Spells to make Saber fight unarmored, that's quite sly of you." Once again, he felt glad that Assassin was his Servant.

"Well, to be honest, I think that discovering the buttons that you have to push to make that girl unstable might be more valuable in the future." Assassin countered with a compliment of his own.

Shinji quickly replayed it all in his head once more. "Yeah, I think that if I play it right, I can easily make the both of them dance in the palms of my hand." It was hard to suppress a chuckle at that thought.

Assassin agreed, but his tone changed to a more serious one. "Still, it's not good to get too drunk on our successes, we still need to be on guard. Not a single Master or Servant has been eliminated yet. While we might be readying for a deathblow to two pairs, it doesn't hurt for us to remain guarded against others." He said not to dismiss their recent success, but to make sure that it wasn't their last.

Shinji understood. "You're right. Well, for now I guess we should rest at home." He looked in the direction of his house, but something felt wrong. It was as if something was missing from it, Shinji wasn't too sure. "Assassin, there's something wrong going on." The Servant said nothing but separated from Shinji and started to walk with more caution, as if he expected some kind of attack.

Nothing happened during the rest of the way, which actually suited Shinji. He'd rather not fight too much in one night, no matter how many victories it meant. As he approached his own home, he noticed that whatever had happened to his house, it was definitely not a Matou victory.

Some of the windows were smashed and the door was missing, however the worst of the damage could not be seen. Every single one of the Boundary Fields which had protected the house for so long were gone, even those that did little more than prevent the Magical Energy from leaking to the outside could not be felt anymore. _Who could have done such a thing?_

Shinji and Assassin entered the house cautiously, despite the fact that the latter reported not feeling a presence of a Servant from inside. "Actually, I feel a Servant walking away. It must have finished whatever it is that it wanted here." Kill Matou Zouken? That was Shinji's first guess. But it just couldn't be: Zouken was the kind of existence that wouldn't really die even if he got killed (snicker). Well, it'd all be clear when he found the crappy old man. Or his corpse.

Shinji hoped it would be his corpse.

But he would have no such luck. Instead, Shinji found his grandfather mumbling in feverish tones about something or other having been stolen. He considered slapping Zouken for a moment and even raised his hand. In the end he reconsidered this.

"Assassin, if you would be so kind as to break my grandfather from his grief. No gentleness needed." Assassin backhanded Zouken with such force that he slid for almost a meter.

Quickly Zouken's eyes focused on Shinji, but he didn't seem to have felt Assassin's blow, since what he started shouting about was unrelated to it. "What are you doing? You useless trash! Go after him! He's taken almost everything, everything! If you hurry you might catch him. Do it, Do it you bastard!" It was… Surprising to say the least, the old man was even more angered than when Shinji had lured Emiya. He kept on shouting, but Shinji pretty much tuned it off.

He really wasn't in the mood to listen to abuse by that old man. When Zouken gave him the smallest chance to retort… "Speak human, you old fart. Who did what? If you're not clear I don't know how important this thing that happened is." He tried to put as much contempt as he could into his words.

This sobered Zouken enough that he stopped shouting and babbling. "You moron, a Servant was here, Caster, I think, he went through the Boundary Fields like nothing and used some kind of strange magic to record everything that was in almost every book in this house. Said he was looking for more source material or something. He's probably going the Tohsaka household right not." He returned Shinji's tone.

"Hoh, that sounds interesting." He didn't care as much as his grandfather did about the family's secrets. Sure, before this he would have been as disturbed as his grandfather, but now he found a different way to be special than being a member of the Matou family of Magi.

All tiredness seemed to fade from his body. Already many good things had happened to him that day, some bad but he just ignored them, yet it seemed like luck was not finished favoring him.

* * *

A few hours ago…

Caster found himself in front of a big house. It was one of his targets, along with the Tohsaka's house. A frown appeared on his face, he did not like it, but he had no choice. He had hit a snag on how to stabilize Magical Energy when he ran the new 'system', so he needed some new research material, as he had run out of new information in Frederick's library.

He sighed and cursed the Command Spell, he normally wouldn't do something so low as to steal from somebody else's research, but then again, he doubted that any other Magi would willing cooperate and hand over their research without a hefty compensation, in that they quite resembled scientists. So realistically, Caster had no other option.

He wouldn't cooperate ever again with someone that put a leash on him in any way; he was fed up with opportunists. It was why the first thing that he told his Master was this: "I will not willingly assist unless you use up every single one of your Command Spells." He'd expected some kind of revolt, but he couldn't expect that this was his Master's plan all along. Nikola Tesla was bound by three quite specific orders, one of which he found to be rather disagreeable, but he had no choice but to follow it.

Thus he found himself standing there, in front of the Matous' house. They were supposed to have died off as Magi, so it was quite surprising that the oldest boy was a Master. Well, later when he asked Frederick, he was the one that implanted the boy with artificial Magic Circuits. "Just leave him be, sooner or later he is going to die from the stress anyway, he's as harmless as a Master can be."

"Well, not so long as he lives." That was the opinion that Caster kept to himself and now uttered in front of the very same boy's home. He briefly thought of going to the Tohsaka household, but remembered that the young girl from that family was also a Master. "What problematic people these Magi are…" Still, it would be much safer to invade the house of a Master whose Servant couldn't completely conceal its presence.

"Hmm." Caster considered for a moment. "Well, I'm going to have to do this eventually, might as well go through with it." He double-checked his Magical Energy source. "Good, Frederick is connected to the system, I won't have any problems." The amount that Caster could hold at a time was small indeed, but it was all he needed, since any fields or barriers that he cast on himself would automatically feed from the 'system'.

He first fed energy to the Crest in his hand. Frederick had told him it was usually the painstaking work of generations and generations, but Caster could not understand how as he believed it to be a matter of efficiently encoding information. Fortunately Frederick's family was quite open-minded as far as Magi go, so Caster found a book on binary language among so many that were about spell casting. Caster quickly learned it and put it to good use.

His Crest was all 1's and 0's, but he knew which strings he wanted to activate. He did it all silently. Frederick seemed slightly angered at that, he said that a spell should have an activation chant or some other rubbish. Caster disagreed, good creations had no need for extra dressing. If what he ended up making was no less than… Awesome and full of fireworks, well then, it was as such on its own merits, not because he put something unnecessary in it.

One of the fields he had just cast on himself allowed him to see flow of Magic Energy. The entire house seemed to be made of light. "Well, after all they WERE Magi at some point." For almost anyone it would be hard, almost impossible to distinguish what was an individual Boundary Field among all the light, but not Caster, who had worked with and manipulated something that he could neither see nor feel his entire life.

"Now, what is the most efficient way of getting rid from these?" He analyzed the web of magic in front of him mildly puzzled. He didn't have enough capacity to brute-force it, nor could he easily work with an established flow. "Oh, I know." Caster smiled as he came up with an answer.

He circled around the house, taking a good look at every Boundary Field's structure. He eventually found a fatal error in their structure. Well, not necessarily an error, but there was a place where the magic suppressing field was so close that it almost activated against another. It should have posed no problem, but…

Caster walked to the electric post next to the house and connected it to the 'system'. He flowed some Magical Energy through the cabless and took care that it went where he wanted, the Matou house. As it approached the house, he diverted it all to a small gap, it was a distance small enough through the air that not much was lost to realization of its potential, though it produced plenty of sparks.

The entire structure of field snapped, quickly breaking down at various points. For a moment the house was dark. Then Caster could see the Magical Energy of what was inside. One bunch in particular drew Caster's attention. "What is this? Insects? No wonder Frederick thinks they are creepy. Well, I'm just here for the books." After he confirmed that there was only one person inside, _the Master boy must be looking for opponents_, he decided to test something.

Opening his Crest once again, Caster created a strange shiny surface next to him, from it a laser shot out that blasted away the house's door. Caster nodded satisfied. "It seems to be quite easy to create a military-use grade laser using magic." He entered the house.

Frederick had told him not to worry and that the old man that inhabited the house was not killable, but still, Caster would rather not test that. He deactivated the magic-visualization field.

He didn't need to search much, the man came at him and they met in the living room. "You destroyed the Boundary Fields? That's inconceivable! I feel almost no magic…" It was no wonder that he sounded frantic, for someone to destroy all of house's protection should be something unheard of. Magi were quite jealous of their space, or so Frederick told Caster.

Caster interrupted him with a gracious bow. "Good evening, I am the Servant Caster; I have come here for your knowledge of magic. Worry not as I do not intend to truly steal anything, merely copy." He stated his intentions clearly and honestly, perhaps hoping for diminished resistance.

The old man got even more surprised. "You what? Caster, and, that's inconceivable!" A scowl appeared in the old man's face and seemed to be preparing some sort of attack.

Caster clicked his tongue, he'd have to use something to suppress the old man. Once again using his Crest, he cast another spell using the 'system'. Electricity rushed inside the house from the electric cables around the house, destroying every window in the process, and created a sort of cage around the old man. He was effectively sealed.

"I will net let you touch the knowledge which was the result of so much sacrifice!" The old man cast something but it fizzled harmlessly in the cage of energy. Caster smiled at the result. _As expected, of course electricity properly channeled can interfere with magic. _The old man obviously didn't like the grin. "What? Just like that and I'm neutralized? Inconceivable…" He obviously was not accustomed to defeat.

Caster let out a chuckle. "Inconceivable, inconceivable… You keep saying that word. I don't think it means what you think it means." With that he left the old man, after all he had some books to find and copy with another of his spells.

* * *

At the time that Shinji was still walking to his home, Shirou, Rin, Saber and Rider had arrived at the Emiya household. Overtaken by exhaustion, Shirou simply threw himself on the ground in the living room. "Ah, I'm tired. Wow, that was really stressful." He looked at the ceiling, wondering: What other course of action should he have taken? There had to be something that he could have done that would have made things better.

Rider blocked his view of the celling. "I don't know what you're thinking, Shirou, but that worried face betrays some of it. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. It was my fault for underestimating Archer. I shouldn't have let him demolish the building." Ah yes, the building. Shirou realized what she meant, probably quite a few people died in the implosion, and it wasn't even that which was nagging at his heart.

Not only had he failed Rin, he didn't protect her from Shinji, he had also failed the people in the hotel. "And even before…" He rolled to his side while grumbling. As he did, he saw Rin pouring some tea in the kitchen, she appeared to be completely calm. Despite all of the guilt wracking him, he felt some laughter trying to escape him. He felt like he failed to protect Rin, hah, that was a joke. If he told her that, she would probably be angry, saying something about how she was able to protect herself fine.

But she wasn't, the way she acted in the hotel was proof. Behind that strong façade, she might actually be quite the frail person. He would just have to secretly add her to his ever growing list of things to be protected, to hell with what she might think.

"Huh, just when I thought you were smiling, your face gets so stiff." Rider blocked his view again, this time by lying in front of him. She was close, too close.

Shirou practically jumped back. "What you're doing? Are you making fun of me?" He would rather not have blushed.

Rider looked slightly surprised by his reaction. "You just seemed to be brooding too much, that's not good, you know?"

"What? You want me to smile in this situation?" He said it without thinking, just letting his frustration act.

Rider was unfazed. "It's exactly because we are in this situation that you can't feel too depressed about things that happened. You can grieve after there's nothing left to be done." She said clearly and calmly, as if this was something that she lived by, something that she had to say out loud so she didn't forget it herself.

Shirou wanted to answer, but before he could, Rin put the tray with tea on the table. "I hate to interrupt, but we have to discuss the recent events." She was probably talking about what happened in the hotel.

It didn't bring much progress, as they were unable to link any of the new information on Archer and Assassin to a possible Heroic Spirit. "There are two things that I can think of in addition to the regular possibilities:" Rin talked in her usual explanatory manner. "Either they're Heroic Spirits from the future, or they're fictional heroes." After all, Heroic Spirits were little understood existences that were outside the flow of time. It would not be so strange for such a thing to be. "Or we just can't identify them." She finished with a shrug.

_Rider said that none of Archer's weapons looked like a Noble Phantasm, so it means that he hasn't used it yet? _Shirou tried to continue his train of thought as he went to check on Sakura. She was likely safe, but he just wanted to be sure. _It's not like…_ His thoughts froze as took a good look at Sakura's room. She was nowhere to be seen. Ona name popped in Shirou's mind.

"Ma-tou, Shin-ji!" He uttered the name between grinding teeth.

Shinji took a deep breath, he'd need a lot of courage for that. After he realized what had happened, he first wanted to make use of his house as a barrier against Emiya's wrath while he convinced Emiya of his innocence, but now all protection was gone, so he had to be a bit daring. He stood alone in front of his home.

As he predicted, the sound of hoofs approached, it was Emiya and Tohsaka, riding behind their Servants. Emiya practically flew off the horse and grabbed Shinji by the shirt, pinning him against the wall. As he ordered, Assassin did nothing. "Where's Sakura?" But Shinji didn't listen to the shout; he was too busy looking into the eyes of the other Master, Tohsaka.

Those were eyes that he had never seen on Tohsaka, such coldness, such hatred. It was to be expected, of course she would hate him, but there was something else to it, something that pleased Shinji infinitely, something that just now he realized that he had always wanted, always craved.

She saw him as something considerable, a menace, something not to be overlooked, just from that he thought that all that had happened and anything that might happen in the future became worth it. _I'm not just a bug anymore!_ He might have laughed. That is, if he wasn't pinned on the wall.

"I asked you a question, Shinji!" Emiya shook him and he hit his head on the wall.

He bore the pain and answered with some difficulty. "Yes, I know where she is, no it's not my fault you dimwit. If you let me down, then we can talk rationally." Perhaps Emiya was reaching his limit.

Emiya shook him again. "Talk rationally? You think I can easily trust you after all that you've done?"

Shinji suppressed the ridiculously strong urge to roll his eyes. _If you're not going to trust me, then why the fuck are you asking me? Moron. _Despite his words, Emiya let him down. Well, Shinji hadn't lied to him once until now, Emiya probably realized that.

"Rest assured." The cold voice was from Tohsaka. It sent a chill up Shinji's spine, it was like her eyes. The chill wasn't from fear. "If we find your answer to be unsatisfactory, we will wring a satisfactory one from you." She was serious.

It took Shinji a lot of effort not to smile. It would not do to irritate them further. "Look, she's under the rubble of that hotel, but don't worry, I don't think she's dead yet, she shouldn't be, considering what she is." The looks of disbelief in Tohsaka's and Emiya's faces were priceless.

"Look, I don't know the details, but according to Archer's Master, that ominous presence was Sakura. Apparently Zouken made her so, but she wasn't supposed to be acting like that yet. The probable cause, according to Archer's Master, would be a bigger attachment to Emiya than normal." Oh boy, was he enjoying it.

"I guess that indirectly makes me responsible, eh? Getting over the whole Worm-Room-Incident must have made her love for Emiya even stronger." He was going to say something he would regret, but he would regret not saying it even more.

"Still, I think that the bigger culprit is one certain father, don't you agree, Tohsaka?" Him saying that finally made them snap out of their disbelief.

Emiya threw to the ground. "You think we're going to believe this fairy-tale? You bastard." Tohsaka dismounted and Shinji felt magic from her, things were getting dangerous.

"I guess we're going to need some motivation for a better answer." Tohsaka looked like she might really kill him, he really regretted saying it.

Still, not all was lost. "You sure about that? You can do whatever you want to me, but every lost moment might bring a certain girl closer to death under all of that rubble you know, on the off chance that I am speaking the truth." He wasn't nearly as calm as he sounded, but he was proud of faking it.

Both of them froze. It worked. Emiya let out a growl, probably of frustration. "You're right. Let's go." He turned around and started walking to the Servants, who were probably still on guard for Assassin.

"Wait, Emiya-kun." Tohsaka grabbed Emiya's shoulder. "If what he says is true…" Shinji liked the way she said 'he', it dripped with acid. "Then we can't just save her carelessly." _Oh, that is going to be fun._

Emiya seemed on auto-pilot. "We will think about that after we save her." He growled it.

Tohsaka, meanwhile, had entered perfect-Magus mode. "You felt it, didn't you, as caretaker of this land I can't simply let something like that freely roam about." She answered resolutely.

The outrage surpassed the auto-pilot for Emiya. "What are you saying? She's your sister! How can you say that?" By then, the Servants were already looking at each other in confusion, they obviously did not expect discord among their Masters.

Tohsaka closed her eyes and shook her head as if denying the world. "It doesn't matter, not if she's… not herself anymore." For people who claimed to distrust him, they seemed to put quite the stock in his words, Shinji thought. He decided to pour some gasoline on the fire.

"You know, I don't want to interrupt, but I'd like to say something." Both glared at him, he didn't shrink. "First of all, I'd rather you discussed this away from my home, second I've got some more information, though it is unrelated to the topic at hand." He let it hang.

"We're listening." The two said irritated.

"Okay, as you can see, my house was attacked. It was Caster. Tohsaka, tell your Servant that if she's feeling a Servant going away right now, then it's probably Caster who's after new research sources." Oh, how he wished he had a sort of camera in his eyes to record Tohsaka's face.

"You don't mean?" She seemed to even have forgotten that it was Shinji that she was talking with.

"Yes, he's already stolen the Matou's knowledge, now he's after the Tohsaka's. Time for a choice, the Tohsaka's knowledge or the Tohsaka's lost daughter, now possibly turned monster? What do you want to protect." The ensuing the debate would likely be quite interesting.

* * *

Rider didn't like the way things were going. She understood Shirou's desire to protect, but things were going a bit too far. Even though she felt some uneasiness from the moment that they started to cooperate with Rin, Saber's Master, Rider didn't oppose it. After all they were both respectable people, she was sure that they wouldn't betray her and Shirou.

Now that Shirou had declared that they would be on different sides regarding Sakura if she really was the presence that they felt, Rider couldn't help but feel nervous. She didn't fight against Saber, but she realized from fighting alongside her that without using her trump card she would never be able to defeat Saber.

"Shirou, maybe you should reconsider your position." She didn't need to mention what.

"Rider, don't make me repeat myself, if she does not wish to protect Sakura, then there's nothing to talk." The conversation went pretty much like this. Rin attached the condition of a possible salvation as the minimum, Shirou would have none of it, he would never give up.

Thus they found themselves in such a situation. On Shirou's orders Rider unsummoned the horse that she had lent Saber. He and Rider were making their way to the hotel's ruins while Rin and Saber were presumably going to the Tohsaka household to protect the Tohsakas' library.

Shirou's mood was only getting worse, which was to be expected, in the short while that she lived with him she realized what kind of person he was. He worked diligently for the benefit of others; nothing hurt him more than failing at something that's for the sake of another. Not that different from her, but there should be limits.

Not for Shirou, he didn't seem to believe in limits unless you meant of them as something to be broken. It was impressive in its own way. Although in a different manner, she was reminded of her father, he was also a person who would not bend when it came to some values.

They finally arrived at it, the hotel's ruins. Surprisingly, it was completely deserted. There wasn't even sign of a rescue party trying to look for possible survivors. Shirou quickly jumped off the horse and started to move pieces of concrete.

"What are you doing? Help me!" He seemed to have been possessed by something, moving the pieces here and there with an eerie calm.

Rider sighed. There was no way around it. "Okay, Shirou."

They did this for a few minutes, but no progress seemed to have been made, they didn't hear anyone calling nor see anyone in all the rubble. "Damn it, if only we could have more hands. That stupid Tohsaka…"

Rider considered it for a moment and before she thought it through. "Well, I could do something about it, but it would too much magic that we don't have the luxury of using." She regretted saying that much.

"Do it." Shirou said it with a blank stare.

Rider was dumbfounded. She blurted. "What? Are you insane? Hat if someone sees it, that's not the kind of…"

"I told you to do it!" Shirou cut her using a tone that she didn't remember hearing from him. "If you don't…" He raised his hand containing the Command Spell. The threat was apparent.

Rider couldn't believe it, but he was most likely serious. "You would step on me, force me, for this? Even though it is clearly not a good idea?"

Shirou stared her in the eyes, he did not waver. "Do it, or I will make you do it, that's your last chance." He was dead serious.

Rider gritted her teeth; losing one of the Command Spells on top of everything would just make things worse. "Fine, this time I'll do it for free, but the next time you want to force me to do something like that, you will have to use that Command Spell." That was not good, she didn't want to have attrition with her Master, but he left her no choice. "Rise! Pride of the steppes, guard of the Khan!" With that, she used one of her Noble Phantasms

Four riders appeared, two to each of her side, they were all armored for battle. One of them addressed Rider. "Oh, Princess, how rare, so you are representing us. Does that mean that you have a chance of having your wish fulfilled?" Rider silenced him with a gesture.

Rider's voice betrayed the need for coercion. "I'm sorry, Subutai, but the reason I called for you has nothing to do with war." She gestured to the rubble around them. "Help me and my Master look for a survivor among this." None of the soldiers said anything, nor did their looks betray their thoughts. They merely set to the task.

It was humiliating to have her identity exposed in such a manner. But she had to bear with it, she just had to bear with the frustration, it was something she was used to after all. She fervently prayed that no other Servant or Master was watching them.

The work picked up the pace with four more pairs of hand. _Will we even find anyone?_ Was the unasked question, but even if anyone asked, Shirou probably wouldn't change his mind.

"Hey, I think I hear some breathing!" Everyone was surprised.

"What are you waiting for? Help her!" Shirou barked the order, but the soldier merely looked at Rider.

"No reason not to." She said simply. So the soldier and the others started working in that area.

"Seems hard for you, that Master." It was Subutai who talked.

Rider bit her lip. "Don't mention it, it doesn't matter, I will triumph." Yes, after all she still had her trump card. "I won't shame these powers lent by my father."

Subutai smiled. "We wouldn't expect any less. Just make sure that next time you summon us our weapons are of use." She nodded.

"What the…? Ugh!" Their attention was drawn by the soldier's groan as he was attacked by… Some sort of tentacle? Rider wasn't sure. It seemed like he was being absorbed somehow.

Four arrows broke the tentacle-like thing. "What the hell is going on?" Once again Rider could feel that ominous aura. It was coming from the person emerging from the rubble, Matou Sakura. Well it did look like Matou Sakura, but in very twisted way. It seemed to be wounded already. No wonder, since a building collapsed on it. Wait, how was it even walking? Maybe it regenerated by absorbing people, that made sense if you consider that it had all of the trapped people as 'food'.

All of these thoughts came in a second. Almost unconsciously Rider was drawing and nocking her arrow. _It is finished_. She was about to release it.

"Don't do it! Don't do anything to Sakura!" Shirou's hand glowed, Rider cursed.

For a moment she considered resisting the Command Spell, but she didn't have the luxury of concentrating on that as she had to dodge the tentacle-like things shooting from Matou Sakura. "Damn it…"

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Rider's idiotic Master was running at the thing, and she had no way to protect him from it. She had already unconsciously unsummoned her soldiers since she knew she wouldn't be fast enough to stop them. _Please, let whatever it is that he is trying work._

It did. "Senpai?" It said so sleepily before fainting and falling on Shirou's arms. Rider thanked every deity that she could think of.

* * *

Saber really felt like she wanted to speak with whoever said that "Caster is a weak opponent for Saber." She felt that it was a gross misconception. While she did have quite the high resistance against magic, it mean nothing if the magic wasn't being used directly on her, like in this case.

"How can you dodge so fast? Certainly you do not have the dexterity for it, Caster." She looked once again at the man who she had just scared away from the Tohsaka household.

Caster stroked his mustache while looking thoughtful. "Well, I guess there is no harm in telling you, I merely make use of any metal I find to create magnetic polarities which allow me to move away from you as fast as possible." He bowed at the end of the explanation, as if he had just explained a magic trick.

Saber charged after him. "So, you fear my blade." He ran away equally fast.

"Yes, quite so, seeing as how all of the delicate spells I have woven on myself might be affected if you're too close, or not, but I'm not in the mood for experimenting with this right now." He jumped on a house's roof.

Saber prepared to jump after, but held back by instinct. It was the right choice as an electric net was made between the electric cables. Saber glared at Caster. "Petty trickery, is it your sole intention to run?" She knew he would not be provoked, but it was worth a shot.

At least he turned to speak to her. "Trickery? That would have been enough to kill a regular human, though it would not kill you, it would at least be enough to render you harmless for enough time that I would be able to capture you." He stated his objective without a care.

"And how would that serve you?" At the very least, it was easy to get information out of him.

Caster raised his head as if he was thinking deeply. Perhaps he was. "Well, that I can think of right now, I would be served by: First, having a wonderful test subject on how exactly does magic resistance work and would I be able to break it with the least amount of Energy, magical or otherwise. Second, I can always use more batteries for my 'system'. Third, I could pillage unhindered the knowledge of your Master's family." He made a surprised expression at that. "Oh right, that's why you're after me."

It was why she wouldn't let him leave, aside from how dangerous he was. "You're not escaping." She made another effort to reach him.

His arm started to glow, he was preparing something. "Well, too bad, time's up. The 'system' is getting unstable, so I will excuse myself." He bowed and disappeared from in front of Saber. It wasn't that he went into spirit form. Was it some kind of teleportation? She didn't think so, as she could feel him leaving ridiculously fast. The simple fact was that he escaped, and that he refrained from doing it too soon as to try to capture her. He was definitely dangerous, perhaps more so than even Assassin.

* * *

Even as they arrived home, Shirou was dissatisfied. Not only that, he kept glaring at Rider. She tried her best to ignore that, as she felt that she should be the one feeling injured by the whole situation. "Regardless of possible recovery, she is a menace in the short-term. Can't you understand it, Shirou?" She knew he wouldn't listen, but tried anyway.

He just shook his head as he went to pot Sakura in her room. He talked once he came back. "It is not up for discussion." He said it flatly.

_Well, that's evident, considering your usage of the Command Spell. _But she decided to let it go for now. "Well, for it is better if we rest, but I do hope you have some idea as to what are we doing tomorrow." She did her best to sound friendly.

Shirou's defiant mood softened. "Well, I do have an idea, I don't really like it, but it is the only thing I can think of. Kotomine Church."

* * *

Lancer smiled satisfied. While he was not fond of doing reconnaissance work himself, he didn't have much choice in that situation. He knew he'd be able to obtain some good information if he kept watching that rubble. Good information could be the bringer of victory. He would definitely be the victor of this War, his pride would allow no less, especially considering the circumstances of his death. All because of a piece of information.

6th Day end.

* * *

**Stats for Rider**

**General)**

**Master: Emiya Shirou**

**True Name: ? (Daughter of Genghis Khan**

**Alignment: True Neutral**

**Strength: C**

**Endurance: B**

**Agility: A**

**Magical Energy: C**

**Luck: C**

**Noble Phantasm: A+**

**Class abilities)**

**Riding A+: Able to ride anything but dragons**

**Magic Resistance B: Nullifies most magic that isn't very strong.**

**Details)**

**How or why she was summoned instead of her father is not known, but it seems that she borrows many powers from him, so she still has quite the formidable arsenal at her disposal.**

**Skills)**

**Mounted Combat A: Able to fight using her own skills, such as the bow while mounted.**

**Noble Phantasm)**

**Pride of the Steppes,**

**Guard of the Khan**

**Rider summon a group of some of the most skillful warriors of ancient Mongolia, led by one of her father's most successful generals, Subutai.**

**While the others are not quite at that level, Subutai himself is at the level of a Heroic Spirit.**

**Rank: A**

**Type: Summon**

**Range: -**

**Maximum target: -**

**Yes, her second (and more powerful) Noble Phantasm is yet to be revealed.**


	11. 7th Day part 1

7th Day – part 1 – Solutions

He was having another dream, but it felt unlike any other dream he could remember. He was seeing a hill, one among many others. He could see mountains all around it. He felt an incredible tranquility from this place, but why?

Somehow he knew that this wasn't common, tranquility wasn't supposed to be the norm in that place, but at the moment it was. A young woman was on top of the hill looking into the distance. He didn't know why but she didn't seem at ease, why? Why would she not be happy with it? That place was at peace, even though it was the site of many skirmishes over the generations.

It was all because of her father. The Great Khan brought peace to the steppes, he united the tribes under his banner gave them purpose. It was a commendable act, one that likely would echo through the ages. Yet, something seemed profoundly unsatisfied in the daughter's eyes, eyes that she showed no one else, just the tranquil hill and the surrounding scenery.

She didn't live a stifling lifestyle, even though her husband to be was chosen by her father, it was necessary to bind the tribe tighter to the Khan. Not only was she not unsatisfied, on the contrary, she seemed happy to be of use to her father's noble acts.

She had as much freedom as she could want so long as she did the necessary chores. She did those diligently and faster than any other, so she could hone her more 'recreational' skills. Of course these were recreational only for her, who would not ride out to war. Even if she rode and shot better than most of her father's men, she would never be able to ride out, nor did she ever ask. Still, those eyes that she showed no one else were always full of some kind of longing.

* * *

Shirou woke up to the shed's ceiling. _Oh, right. _He was so nervous the night before that he slipped to the shed to train and calm himself. He didn't succeed even once in strengthening, but at the very least he felt that the whole process was easy now that he had the 'switch' that Rin told him about.

The name brought back some unpleasant memories. Now that things seemed mostly under control, he felt slightly foolish, but he still believed that he had done the right thing, even if he was a bit rough…

_Oh, damn. _He remembered some other things. Rider was probably really mad at him, not without reason. Not only had he twisted her arm into using her Noble Phantasm, he also used a Command Spell to stop what amounted to mere self-defense. _But, what else could I have done? I wasn't going to let her kill Sakura._ That was right, but also wrong. No, it was that he didn't want to let Sakura get killed. He justified himself, but deep inside he knew that Rider was right to not like the results.

_It doesn't matter. If insulting Rider and using a Command Spell was all I needed to save Sakura, then it is a cheap price_. One he would have paid all over again if he deemed necessary to protect people.

That's right. Honor was meaningless in front of a life. He would gladly throw away any kind of pride and honor if that meant he could achieve the best ending. He wouldn't regret it. He would regret nothing, so long as his objective was to protect.

* * *

Rider felt annoyed. That just couldn't be it. The reason that her Master was so hell-bent on trying to create the perfect ending for everything, by protecting everyone, was that fire and a promise he made to his late adoptive father? No, more likely it was something that was deeply ingrained in him, but bloomed under the right circumstances. Actually, the reason was not important.

Well, at least there was a reason for him to trample on her like that. It didn't make it any easier to swallow but at least she understood him in a way. It was better than if he was crazy.

She had these thoughts on her mind as she joined him for breakfast. "What about Sakura?" She knew that this would be a good way to ingratiate herself. People like to be asked about things that concern them. She felt bad for manipulating her own master, she personally didn't give a damn about the girl, but she wouldn't be the first to disrupt any sort of harmony between them.

Shirou looked surprised, probably because he didn't expect that question. "She's still sleeping." His tone and eyes betrayed his doubt, he didn't seem to know what to do with Rider's lack of hostility or inquire.

She continued in the same diplomatic tone. "I see." She took a sip of the miso soup. "So, what are the plans for today?" She considered asking about Saber's Master, but maybe it was a little early for that.

Shirou took a long time to answer. She didn't know why, it was such a simple question. Suddenly he lowered his head until it almost touched the table. "I'm sorry about things ended up happening yesterday." _Oh, so he's going to apologize now?_

It took a lot of effort for her not to explode. How dare he apologize after all that, especially since both of them knew that if needed he would have done it all over again. That was the worst part. "Master, don't say you're sorry when you're not. So, about the plans for today?" She hoped that not using his name would transmit the state of their relationship.

It worked. He winced before answering. "I'm going to ask for information from the War's supervisor, in Kotomine Church. You're going to stay here and protect Sakura." There would probably be no argument on that.

Rider did not argue. That would probably afford her more independence. And if she decided that it might just be better to "fail" at her duty. Then well, at least the level of mistrust between them would be mutual. She knew that he would not, could not, sever his ties with her. "I see, I will guard her then, Master." She bowed in deference.

He showed signs of surprise at her quick compliance, but he seemed to take her obedience at face-value. After all, it would be unreasonable to use a Command Spell to make a Servant obey an order that it agreed to. "I'm counting on you." Perhaps he thought that she was just being cold to him but saw his reasoning or something.

She saw him off without any incident. She went to look at the one she was supposed to protect. All she saw was a regular girl sleeping in a futon. _Is she really worth all that? _Whatever it was that possessed her; was that girl worth all that which she might sacrifice? Even if Rider decided one way or another, the Command Spell for not doing anything to the girl was still in action.

She spent a while just pacing around the garden. Just as boredom seemed ready to overcome her, Rider hear the bell. She had an idea as to who the visitor might be.

A slightly awkward Tohsaka Rin stood at the gate. Saber was standing behind her. "Oh, Rin, what brings you here? I don't want to be rude, but your relationship with Shirou seems to be quite strained right now." Ally or not, Rider wouldn't let Rin know of the rift between her and her Master.

"Ahem, can I speak to Emiya-kun?" Rider hoped it was not to apologize, but she wouldn't know that yet, after all…

"No, Shirou is out of the house for the moment. I'm afraid I can't disclose to where, as I'm not sure where we stand in relation to each other, you understand it, right?" She was as polite as she could be.

"Oh, I see, that's a shame." Rin seemed to be distracted by another thought.

Rider waited until she didn't seem so focused. "I would invite you in to wait for him, but Shirou didn't leave me with instructions regarding and. Moreover, the object of your contention is under my care. As I am under the impression that you consider her a threat, I'd like you to understand why I'd rather you don't come in." She bowed, trying to demonstrate respect.

Rin nodded. "I see, then I will come back later." She turned back and started to walk away.

Saber nodded at Rider before following her Master.

Rider reciprocated. It was strange, Saber was probably one of the people she most respected, but she also wanted to much to fight her. She was sure that it would be enjoyable, perhaps Saber might even have the spirit to resist Rider's trump card.

* * *

Kotomine Church. It was by no means a place that Shirou wanted to go to. Still, Kotomine seemed to be quite knowledgeable about the War and anything related to it. Therefore, he might know something about Sakura's condition. It pained Shirou, somehow he couldn't get to like the priest, but he had to ask him about what happened to Sakura.

He approached the doors he heard something which made him stop. Voices could be heard from the inside. Was another Master already talking to the War's supervisor? Shirou hesitated for a few seconds, but in the end decided to put his ear on the door. He couldn't understand everything that was said but there were a few parts that were clear enough.

* * *

One of the things that Kotomine Kirei guessed he was proud of was his ability to be able to not be affected by most things. He felt he guessed because he wasn't sure of it. His father certainly educated Kirei to try always to be above the facts so he could always analyze it and give a proper response and Kirei always felt a need to follow his father's teachings. So perhaps there was no pride involved.

The fact was that Kirei had an almost unbreakable composure, and he felt that to be important. Therefore, there weren't many capable of cracking. He regret that recently he had met one more person capable of doing that. Furthermore, that woman was in front of him.

"I may not look like it, but I actually am a busy man. Since you are a participant of this War, I will listen to your request, but please make it quick, and if it is of no importance, I'd rather you keep it to yourself." He glared at the woman sitting on the bench. His strict words seemed to have had no effect on her.

Carmen uncrossed then crossed again her legs. "You know, my father really hated yours. Apparently he believed that the Witnesses were much more suitable to supervise the Holy Grail War." She said that as one would comment on the weather.

Kirei considered just dismissing this as useless banter but he had little doubt that it would not stop her from pursuing the topic, so he decided to take the bait. "Well, that would be true if there were actually any real Witnesses in this age." He left the rest implied. It was no secret that the Witnesses' powers had declined and that they had been effectively reduced to spies. He hoped the barb would wipe that smirk off her face.

It made no difference. Carmen laughed. "Well, that was true then, wasn't it? But what if I told you that it isn't true now?" She gazed at him as if daring him to contradict what she had just said.

_Surely she is bluffing._ Kirei hoped that it was so, since the alternative meant dire news indeed. "Oh, I hope you are not talking about yourself. After all, no matter how many transgressions, if you had really revived your family's old technique, then there's no way that you would have been disinherited." It wasn't big or important news, still there were few in the Holy Church that hadn't heard of the Castro woman who was disinherited over researching magic too much.

She was unfazed by his comment. "But what if it's just officially that I am in this situation?"

"You don't mean?" A ruse? That was unlikely, the Castro's patriarch was famous for his overflowing honesty. Even the fact that he despised the Kotomine family was no secret.

"Hah, I'm just kidding, my father's morals aren't that flexible, unlike some others who I don't need to mention." She shrugged and shook her head in mock disapproval.

Kirei frowned, was this woman just trying to make him uncomfortable? "I'd prefer that we don't discuss this. Anyway, this conversation seems highly irrelevant, is that really what you came here for? Provoke me?" Perhaps it was the time to force the issue.

She jumped from the bench excitedly. "Oh, so you'd like to talk about relevant things? Would you? That's fine by me." She started to pace the church. "How about we talk about how I ruined your plans then, would that suit you?" She smiled slyly

It still annoyed Kirei, but he had to admit that he was curious as to the how and why. "Okay then, I'm all ears, how and why did you do that?" He prepared himself mentally.

Carmen giggled. "So, we're talking about how I convinced Bazett to summon a different Servant from the one that she planned, right? Then I stopped you by having Archer obliterate her arm after you cut it off so you couldn't steal her Command Spells. I'm just making sure that this is this that we're talking about." She seemed to revel in that.

Kirei kept any reactions to a minimum, it was all an attempt to provoke him. "Yes, I'm quite curious as to how you managed to do this." Though he doubted that she would be honest, Kirei thought it'd be better to play along. Perhaps he might be surprised.

"I am a true Witness." That simple. "Don't worry, because even though I know more about you than you yourself for watching your future, I can no longer see it." She shrugged as if it was an unfortunate but inalterable reality, her expression being akin to that of someone whose cup of tea had just fallen to the ground, but it was no big deal.

"What? You can no longer see the future? What is this about?" It was curious, she first affirms to have such power, then the next moment she denies it. As long as she talks, he will listen.

"That's very simple. I am too involved with this War now, therefore its future is now shrouded in mystery to me."

"What? That's all it takes?"

"Yes, simple isn't it?" Her smile held some bitterness. "If you think about it, it makes complete sense. My power isn't so much seeing the future as it is a complete observation and visualization of something. The predictions come from this complete understanding."

"Oh, that is quite interesting."

Her expression changed to that of a person recollecting, thinking about the past. "I first realized it when it became clear that I was the only one who could make such a clear image out of a story. Perhaps I honed my ability without knowing by reading all of these stories. Anyway, do you know why my involvement impedes me from predicting the future?"

"I have a few guesses, but I'd prefer if you would enlighten me."

She let out a laugh. "I knew this would be worth it. No matter what others may think, you actually are quite the reasonable guy, always ready to talk and listen. So, you see, from my point of view, once I'm in it, the system becomes unstable, if I were to predict something, then act differently due to it, the system changes, the old prediction becomes obsolete, the conditions are not the same." She didn't look like she was lying, and it made sense.

"So you're saying that it's impossible to predict a situation with which you are involved as the mere act of predicting changes the future changes it, therefore invalidating the whole process."

"Exactly. Perhaps my ancestors did not realize the true nature of their gift, thus getting themselves too involved with everything and eventually 'losing' their powers without knowing the reason why."

That was quite the information, but there was still something that nagged at Kirei. "Why are you telling me this? Also, why are you exposing yourself in this War?" Might she have a wish she want granted? But then, why put in such jeopardy by disclosing her ability?

"Well, to put it simply… I am not much different from you. I seek only to relieve myself from the boredom of ordinary life, I want entertainment." Kirei felt a chill down his spine, so that's what it felt to hear someone else speak that word with such heaviness. "At first I was content with books, but no more, I wished to live my own adventure, no matter what others thought. Besides, if I kept quiet about my powers, it'd be too unfair, no?" She started to walk towards the church's doors.

"I see, so that's why you let the both of us know of this."

"Of course, let's see if either of you can beat me." She then pulled the doors and Emiya Shirou fell inside the church.

His expression seemed mildly angered, Kirei observed that he seemed to have no remorse for eavesdropping. "So, you know much about what's going on right? Do you know how to save Sakura?" That was so much like him, direct to the point, he doesn't even care who it so long as it might give him an answer.

Her smile was almost sadistic. "Too bad, the necessary tools to release her from the current predicament are not here. Well, I could show you what is needed then, I'm sure you could eventually learn to reproduce it, but I feel like leaving you with this dilemma." Shirou's face was almost comically confused. Kirei guessed that she was talking about something from the War that was supposed to have happened, not this distorted present.

Then his expression changed to a more determined one. "If you won't tell me, then I will just have to make you!" How easily he attacked someone. Before he could reach Carmen though, Kirei had him on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Emiya Shirou, but this is neutral ground. What kind of supervisor would I be if I just let two Masters fight in this church?" He had Shirou in a lock.

Shirou tried to struggle but it was in vain. "Damn it. What are you talking about? You attacked and tried to rob a Master's Servant! You hypocrite."

"Well, I failed, didn't I? I'm not a Master, this fact doesn't change." It seemed like the woman would not talk about Gilgamesh.

She walked out of the church. She turned before leaving. "One last thing. Kotomine Kirei, in all of the futures that I saw, you never found an answer, I'm sorry, but I don't think that you can find it in this War." She then left.

His expression did not change, but Kirei was in turmoil inside. _What did she mean? Might this all be in vain? _

"Ouch, I don't know what she meant, but can you let go of me now? She's gone." He didn't realize that he had held Shirou in a lock for so long.

"Oh, my apologies, Emiya Shirou. So, before you decided to eavesdrop, there must have been something you wanted with me."

"Never mind, I have an answer now. I'll be leaving now." So he did.

"My, my, what is with these people, just doing as they please."

* * *

Tohsaka Rin was walking through the shopping district. What was she doing there again? Oh yes, she had to get something to eat since she ended up breaking her cooperation with Shirou. Still, why was she paying so much attention to her surroundings? All she came for was to buy some food to eat lunch, so why did it feel like she was looking for someone? Maybe she was still confused from that whole situation about Sakura.

As Rin is still putting her thoughts in order she sights someone she knows, unfortunately it is not someone that she wanted to see. The white-haired girl sees her in turn.

"Ah, Tohsaka/Einzbern." They talk at the same time. Differently from last time, their voices are not charged with hostility, after all that was neither time nor place for a battle and it seemed like both of them were unaccompanied by their respective Servants. Rin left hers home; she could never know when Caster would decide to do something, so she had Saber do guard duty.

Rin considered just leaving it at that and walking away, just as Ilyasviel started to do it, but she remembered something. "Ah Ilyasviel, wait." She called out to the small girl.

The girl turned with a scowl on her face. "What do you want? I don't have anything to talk about with you, and even if I did say I'd kill you next time I saw you, this isn't the time or place for it." Her expression then changed to something more sinister. "What, you want me to make good of my promise?" There was something disturbing about her smile.

Rin suppressed the chills. Somehow she felt that this was bigger than the War. "Caster is going after other Magi's books and knowledge, something feels off, so be careful. There's something off about him."

Ilyasviel looked surprised; she didn't seem to have expected a friendly warning. She quickly regained her demeanor. "Hah, who, cares about what he's planning? Berserker will just smash him like an insect, just like what he'll do to Saber then you." Her expression backed the words, she didn't listen.

Rin involuntarily bit her lip. That girl was being foolish, and somehow she had a bad feeling about it. "I'd be careful if I were you, Caster is more than meets the eye." Perhaps if she repeated herself Ilyasviel would listen.

It just worsened her mood. "You know, if you keep annoying me with that, I might just make good of my promise." She glared at Rin.

With that, Rin also got irritated. "Fine, have it your way, just remember that I warned you." She turned to walk away. They parted like this.

* * *

Shirou had spent the rest of the day looking for that woman, but he had no luck. He was angry hungry and tired when he got home just as the sun was setting. Rider welcomed him with her cold smile and the both of them did not talk to to each other much.

Sakura had still not woken up, which was quite troubling. Did that woman even really know how to save Sakura? If he was to find that out he'd first have to find the woman. He decided to take a risk. "Rider, we're going out tonight, we're looking for a Master." Her smile finally seemed true.


	12. 7th Day part 2

**Oh! It's kind of back. Sorry for being inactive for so long. I can't promise that I'll start updating with any sort of regularity again, but i can promise that this fic isn't abandoned.**

7th Day – part 2 – All-out War

He had spent most of his life afraid of his grandfather. That was the nice way of putting it, the better way of putting it was that whenever Matou Zouken asked Matou Shinji to jump, his default answer would be "How high?". That was, until very recently, so despite his newfound resistance to his grandfather's power, Shinji still respected it. So what the hell was he doing, going after the man who so easily brushed all of that aside? And to ask a favor of all things.

"Well, I guess that is one more reason to be going after him, if there is going to be anyone able to reverse what he has done, it is going to be Caster." He hoped saying that out loud would help him convince himself better as he approached the city's electrical sub-station.

Nearby, the spirit-form Servant decided to give his opinion. "That's what makes you you, Shinji." He seemed to be trying to reassure his Master. "The way that Archer and that woman showed us is not enough, it makes sense to go after other possibilities."

Shinji answered with a bitter smile. "Of course, I could get rid of that stupid old man by doing what they told me to do. However, I can't really say that I am better than Emiya if I have to sacrifice someone along the way, right?" He felt that the Servant agreed. "So I just have to go with a lesser sin that he would never commit: Allying with someone of questionable morals." That would be Caster.

The last time they approached the building, Shinji used Assassin to make Caster back-off, he really hoped that he had already gotten over that. "Show yourself Assassin, we have to grab his attention somehow." Shinji gritted his teeth as pain shot through his body as the artificial Circuits were activated to keep Assassin materialized.

This time the Servant was wearing garish Arabian clothes, just like in his fight with Saber. As he spoke loudly, his voice seemed more commanding that usual. "Servant Caster, show yourself, we have business with you, but do not wish to fight." Would that be enough?

Apparently, it was. "So you have business with me, do you? Since you say that you do not wish to fight, perhaps it's not about your pillaged home, mayhap that was a lie to draw me out? Speak your business?" To their surprise, Caster was standing behind them, almost as if he had teleported there, his well-trimmed mustache above a grin.

Shinji tried to calm down his heartbeats, but that was hard. Somehow, just by looking he knew that Caster was not someone to be trifled with. At least he didn't seem to remember that incident. "I did not lie. While you did defile my family's home, I have no pride in it or the knowledge it has accumulated, you may do with it as you like, I have no use for it." He delivered the words with poise.

This raised Caster's eyebrows slightly. "You sure? From what I've already read, no matter how dirty it is, your family has some pretty good knowledge of magic. But enough of that, what is your business with me?"

Shinji took a deep breath, he had mentally rehearsed this many times now, he couldn't fail. "I have a problem, to which I have found a partial solution which is just not good enough. Therefore I was wondering if you would like to ally with me to help me with it." He was sure of the coming answer.

"Hoh, this looks interesting, but what do I have to gain from it?" There was only one right answer to that question.

"All knowledge derived from the process, and you will probably have access to the last link of knowledge needed to comprehend the essence of Matou magic. Perhaps you will learn even more than that. How about it? Doesn't sound too bad I think." He held out his hand.

Caster immediately grasped it. "Definitely doesn't. Consider us partners." Shinji felt a chill but went through with the handshake. Now he just needed to go get two specific people.

* * *

Rin was trying to battle a bad feeling. Was this truly the way that the Holy Grail War was supposed to go? There was something sinister about it, despite hearing about how impressive Servants, and in special the Saber Servant, were supposed to be, she couldn't help but imagine some sort of dignified battle.

However that didn't seem to be the case. It didn't even feel as if every Master and Servant were maneuvering into advantageous positions. Everything was chaotic and unpredictable to the point of madness, every participant had his or her own agenda that seemed to override even the Grail, which supposedly was able to grant any wish. Rin let out a huge sigh.

"What am I talking about, I'm not that different from the others, look where I find myself again." Despite her last exchange with Shirou, here she was again, in front of his house, but he seemed to be out. Saber wasn't saying anything, but Rin knew that she was bothered by the whole situation, she probably liked things to be clear: Would they be allies or enemies to Shirou?

Yet, that was the least of her worries. There was something about Caster, something deeply unsettling, which she could not point her finger at, but which disturbed her. Was it his clear superiority to every Magi she had ever met? No, that would be a given for Caster, there has to be something else…

"Rin! There's someone here!" Saber's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Was it perhaps Shirou?

Unfortunately, it was perhaps the second to last person she least wanted to see: Matou Shinji. "Oh, that's interesting, I thought you broke up with Emiya. Why are you here in front of his home, Tohsaka? Perhaps mounting an ambush?" She felt like punching that insufferable grin.

She stepped slightly back from Saber, but not too far, there was no way for her to know where Assassin was. "None of your business, but I don't suppose you just happened to wander near Emiya-kun's house. What are you here for?" Her last phrase sounded almost like a growl, she was doing her best, but was failing miserably to hide her crescent irritation with Shinji's mere presence.

Her irritation seemed only to amuse Shinji, as his grin seemed to close in on all-out laughter. "Am I that much of an eye-sore?" Suddenly, his expression changed and everything about him seemed serious. "I am not here to torment anyone. Step aside Tohsaka, my sister has a problem, to which Emiya cannot find an answer, but I can." He was staring at her in all seriousness.

So that's what it was. He was here for Sakura, what else? "And why should I trust your words? How do I know you don't just intend to put her through more hell just to torment Emiya-kun?" _Ah, I'm such an idiot, why am I phrasing this as if I'm doing this for Emiya-kun?_

"Well, first of all, I don't remember having lied to you and Emiya-kun even once yet. But I guess one doesn't just get over enmity that easily, huh. I'm sorry, but I just don't have the time to convince you, Assassin!" Two shots were heard. One was blocked by Saber's sword, the other broke the gate's lock. "Keep them busy." As quickly as he could, Shinji opened it and entered the Emiya household.

Rin tried to go after him, but was stopped by another bullet that Saber had to block. "I'm sorry, but I have no intention of fighting fairly, after all i have to keep the both of you at bay." This time, wearing the dark clothes of a clergyman, suitable for the night, there stood Assassin, pistol in one hand and a saber in another. "Please, just stay put for a while." He was between them and the gate.

Saber's response was swift. "I refuse!" and steeped toward him.

* * *

Shirou was getting more and more frustrated, it didn't seem like they would find that woman. Rider didn't seem to demonstrate any emotion either way and calmly led their horse at little more than walking pace.

He was almost giving up and calling them to return home when a scowl appeared in Rider's face. "Master, there's a Servant." For a moment, Shirou was elated and hoped it was Archer.

His expectations were dashed. "How mysterious, I didn't think I'd meet you here again." The voice didn't belong to Archer, but to Lancer.

Rider nodded her head in a greeting. "Indeed, King of Warriors, that is the bridge were you stopped mine and Saber's pursuit of Archer, a fine place for a bout." The bridge, how many duels between Servants were fought on or near it? Shirou wondered that for a moment as he dismounted the horse.

Rider and Lancer stared at each other in silence for a moment, as if measuring something. "You sure you want to face my lance while on a horse? I'll give you time to prepare as best as you can, after all this is to prove my unquestionable superiority, wouldn't want any excuses to pop up later." He spoke that last part in a teasing tone.

Rider ignored the provocation. "To be honest, I there's something bugging me."

"Oh? Ask away, girl."

She cringed at the last part but otherwise continued calmly. "Where is your Master? It seems hardly fair that I have mine all exposed like this while you hide yours." She talked nonchalantly, insinuating that what Lancer was doing was cowardly.

That seemed to discomfort Lancer. "Well, there's… a certain situation. But worry not, that will change nothing in our bout." He raised his shield as if ready to start.

The answer did not satisfy Rider, but it was enough for her to put the matter aside for the moment. She readied her bow. "Fine, I will ask you about that again after I've defeated you, how about that."

Lancer let out a chuckle. "That's ok by me, but since I know that I'm going to be the winner, it would be unfair to ask anything from you. Here I come!" His shout seemed to signal the start of the fight.

* * *

Ilyasviel was pouting as she walked alongside Berserker. Once more she remembered that annoying Tohsaka Rin. "How could she say that after seeing Berserker's power? Nobody can…" She was cut short as she felt something abruptly pulling her. It was as if she was flying through the air, what a strange sensation that was. It her a while to register that Berserker had grabbed her and jumped through the air, and there was only one reason why he would do something like that.

The place where she was standing before, at the edge of the park had become a crater, probably as the result of an attack from the Servant standing in the middle of the park. Next to him was a woman, most likely the Master.

Ilyasviel let out a vicious smile. "How foolish of you, who do you think you are attacking?" Berserker put her gently on the park's edge. She would be courteous enough to let them at least say something before telling berserker to rip them to shreds.

The woman erupted in laughter. And she kept laughing, so much that Ilyasviel considered ordering berserker to shut her up. But right as she opened her mouth the laughter stopped. "Do I know who I am attacking? Of course I do, daughter of Einzbern. The Grail's Vessel, I wonder what would happen if I irretrievably break it right now." After having said that, the woman charged at Ilyasviel.

Ilyasviel was quick. "Berserker!" She shouted the Servant's name and immediately heard the familiar roar. She was safe, she thought. Berserker always proved why he was the strongest after roaring, be it against the beasts of the forest or another Servant. He always won, he would always win. Imagine her surprise as she felt a powerful punch connect to her stomach. "Uh?" More than the pain, she was surprised. Why didn't Berserker save her?

_Oh, I think I heard something alongside Berserker's roar. _It was the engine of a war tank, which had rammed the Servant as he tried to protect his Master. "Take that!" The enemy Servant shouted joyously. However, it would be wrong of him to think of that as a long-term victory, as moments later, "Jesus fucking Christ!" he was being flung, alongside the tank by something that now resembled closely a dragon.

Ilyasviel did not have time to revel in that as she was thrown by her attacker. Despite falling in grass, having already lost her breath from the first punch, she felt for a few excruciating moments as if she was going to suffocate and die. As her desperate gasps became air entering her lungs, Ilyasviel felt a weight on her. It was that woman.

"Now, now, could you please tell your Servant to calm down?" Her voice had more than a slight tinge of cruelty in it.

Ilyasviel's answer was as straight as her eyes staring at her attacker. "No." She knew that her attacker would soon lose her head.

With almost superhuman speed, the woman rolled on the ground, putting Ilyasviel on top. Berserker turned his attack in a seemingly impossible way to not harm his Master, but the loss of balance was enough for him to be knocked off his feet by the attack of two bazookas. "Woo! Where are you looking, you freaking monster? That's two to one right now." The Servant was doing his best to taunt Berserker.

"See, right now you can't…" The rest of the woman's speech was drowned by a roar that seemed to make the earth's own core tremble. Ilyasviel smiled. The woman went pale, as anyone should when hearing a sound like that.

The enemy Servant smiled nervously. "Whoa, things are getting a bit too exciting, Carmen." The man saying that was standing on a tank (Another, as the first one was destroyed) and next to it there were two artilleries.

The expression the woman's face seemed like that of a maniac. "No, that is how things should be: Face to face with death." She stood while holding Ilyasviel in a lock.

Despite her less than flattering situation, Ilyasviel couldn't help but be smug. "You don't think you're going to live through the night after that, do you?" She said it almost as if she was scolding a little kid for doing something wrong.

Despite being obviously terrified and sweating profusely, the woman managed a coherent reply. "Oh, yes I do, just you see it." Ilyasviel's expression was like that of someone who just heard a lunatic saying he can get to the moon on a bike.

* * *

Rider was growing ever more concerned by the second. Nothing seemed to be working. She tried putting more power into her arrows, she tried innumerous feints to create openings, yet she was unable to inflict a single wound on Lancer. Her horse, on the other hand had suffered multiple attacks and was on the verge of death.

"What is this? Can these feeble attacks truly be your best?" Lancer repeatedly beat on his shield with his lance, taunting her. "Give me something more, little girl, or are you afraid?" Rider tried to maintain her calm, if she attacked recklessly she would certainly lose. Also, she couldn't do much more without using much more energy, of which she had not much left, moreover it would reveal her identity.

"Damn, what do I do?" She muttered under her breath. As she glanced behind, she felt irritation at her Master's worried face. She knew she shouldn't, but the thought flashed through her mind. _What are you looking worried for, you bastard? Whose fault do you think this is?_ He did get seriously hurt protecting her, but so what? If only he could share energy with her…

Her thought was interrupted by another lunge from Lancer. "Come on, come on! If you don't do anything I'm going to overpower you. Or could it be…" Lancer suddenly stopped in his tracks and chuckled. "You're worried about your identity? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, Princess of the Steppes, why don't you just call your father's subordinates and let the real warriors do the fighting?" The condescension cut deep.

In a moment she realized: He had seen them, he already knew who she was, he knew that she was nothing but a vessel for borrowed power, her father's, Genghis Khan's power. "You Bastard!" She shrieked.

He knew. She knew. She had no right to complain about her Master, it was his inadequacy, after all, that gave her this chance. The chance to change everything. She wished to fight alongside her father and brothers, but she couldn't. Yet, she could change that now. An error in the summoning and she was called instead of her father to fight in the Holy Grail War, so she had a shot at one wish. _I wish I was born a boy._ Just so she could fight, she fought for the right to fight for her people. And despite that she was being mocked?

"I will crush you!" With that shout, she put much of her remaining energy into summoning her elite guard. She did not have enough for her trump card, which was actually fortunate, as if she had barely enough, she would probably do it, even if it meant she would vanish right after.

* * *

Saber was irritated, she felt like this was the most cowardly fight she had ever had. "Assassin, would you stop aiming for my Master? That's just so shameful of you!" But of course he wouldn't listen.

"I'm sorry Saber, but I'm not here to be sporting, perhaps one day we will have a proper fight, but it won't be tonight." Saber advanced, but Assassin just retreated about the same distance. For the third time, Rin tried running from behind Saber, but she had to obstruct her Master to protect her from the shots. Quickly, right after that she kicked off the ground to close the gap extremely quickly, but Assassin deftly deflected her swings and created as much distance as he could. "Oh my."

Both he and Saber realized the same thing. He had finally been forced inside the house's garden. He was not immovable. "We can do this, Saber!" Rin shouted triumphantly.

Despite that, Assassin smiled. "Too bad, there was a time limit. It's your loss." He broke into a run. It took Saber a moment to realize what was happening.

"I'm going after him!" She started running and knew her Master was doing the same.

"Here, Assassin!" To the side of the house was Matou Shinji, holding his sister. In a blur of movement, it was Assassin holding the both of them and jumping onto the property's walls.

"Rin, give me your hand." In moments, she was pursuing Assassin while holding Rin. She would not just let him run away.

* * *

It looked like a scene right out of a movie, no, Archer decided as he put more thought into it, not even a movie would have such an absurd scene in it. Of course, that little girl could be something like the kidnapped princess, but the thing that was pursuing the villains, he and his Master, looked like it would probably rather eat the princess and not save her. Archer knew better though.

It was the second time he was running away like this, but somehow he felt like this time he had no option to just switch to a jet. He was sure that even if he summoned it, as it was taking off it wouldn't have enough maneuverability to juke a leap from that monster of a Servant that was Fucking Running as Fast a Fucking Jeep, it was terrifying.

"It doesn't seem like you're going to run away from Berserker. Why don't you just give up, stop the car, and accept that he is going to rip both of your heads off?" The little girl's constant comments didn't really help, it also really ruined the whole kidnapped princess image.

His Master countered with a degree of calm. "Don't say such grim things, daughter of Einzbern. You're not cute at all." Archer wondered how long she would be calm for if he told her that they were pretty much out of options.

_No, don't be like this! Think of something. _It would be just ridiculous if they truly ended up being eliminated like this. He just had to think of something. _Oh. _The bridge, he wondered if something would happen if he headed there. Last time he hit the jackpot. Who knows, he might end up making the right decision twice.

* * *

It tortured Shirou. Was he really powerless to help Rider in any way? It seemed that way, as even after summoning her elite warriors, she was unable to penetrate Lancer's defense.

She mounted distractions, ordered them to circle around him, combined attacks, despite all of that, all injuries were mounting up on her side, every attack reflected by a shield or lance.

"Weak, weak! Don't you proud warriors have anything better to show me?" After many round of taunts such as this one, it seemed to Shirou that Rider and her warriors were more tired than anything. It was as if there was an insurmountable wall, as if there was an immense weight that they just could not lift. It was then that it dawned on Shirou.

_Could it be… My fault? _From the start he knew there was something wrong with him as Master. There was something wrong with his connection with Rider, but to think that it would be such a problem. _I have to do something. _But, what? He thought and thought about it, but couldn't arrive at an answer.

_Call us. _A strange voice, no it was a feeling; it shot up from inside him. The images of swords, which alongside the fire so constantly haunted his dreams, popped up in his head. _But how? _He now knew what to do, but how would he do it?

As he looked back at Rider he discovered that his time was running short. The warriors surrounding Rider vanished, probably after having spent the last of their energy. Right after, with a smash of his shield, Lancer knocked Rider off her horse and stood next to her. "Is that all you can offer me, Rider?" This time, his voice held no contempt, no malice, no provocation; all that it conveyed was deep disappointment.

Immediately, Rider burst into tears, all of the humiliation she must have been feeling almost tangible in her voice. "Yes! That's all, I have nothing left! I couldn't even use all of my power. I guess that's what I deserve, for struggling against fate. Fine, kill me, King of Warriors. It's your right."

Lancer nodded solemnly, "Farewell, Princess of the Steppes, you had even worse luck than I did with Masters." and readied his lance for a fatal blow.

_No, this can't be. _Shirou ran at the two Servants. But what could he really do? Instinctively he knew. Projection. It was such an stupid idea that it might work. He remembered his father telling him that it was much worse than strengthening, but so what? Somehow, he knew he could make them, the swords. Still, then what? Even with weapons he knew he would be inferior to Lancer. He'd probably just die needlessly. Even then, he felt that he could not just abandon Rider.


	13. 7th Day part 3

7th Day – part 3 – Dialogue

How did things turn out that way? Shirou was still trying to understand exactly what had happened. At first, he was sure he was trying to somehow save Rider from Lancer. If he remembered correctly he was running and shouting like crazy, when he was almost run over by a jeep. Because it avoided running him over, the car crashed into one of the bridge's pillars. From then on he wasn't too sure of things anymore.

Almost at the same moment that Shirou was almost run over, Lancer turned around and activated his Noble Phantasm. Despite being unhurt, he seemed to have been knocked back for quite a distance. After that, the freight-train known as Berserker turned its attention the crashed jeep, from which climbed out a small girl. Seeing his master well seemed to calm him somehow.

That white-haired girl was quite unforgettable. Despite the situation she was smiling as if she was having just too much fun. Without the slightest hint of hesitation she walked, skipped really, to Shirou and spoke in her usual cheerful manner. "You saved me, didn't you? Onii-chan."

_Huh? How did it turn that way? _Was what he might have thought, but he was still too confused at that point to properly process what she was saying. Therefore, he just gave her a confused look.

Meanwhile, despite putting herself in a sitting position, Rider still had the look of someone who was in a profound despair and has simply given up on life. Lancer was walking back, none too pleased with the result of Berserker's charge. Two more people started to come out of the crashed jeep.

Ilyasviel was taking a look around. "Wow, isn't that your servant, Onii-chan?" She pointed directly at Rider. "That's terrible, you're doomed if you stick with her. You know what, you should just ditch her and become my Servant, I will protect you." It was from that point on that Shirou started to little by little grasp the situation.

The first one to protest Ilyasviel's remarks was the one who moments earlier was about to end Rider's existence. "Nonsense, little girl, she would be a fine Servant, if only her Master would provide her with a suitable amount of energy!" Somehow, there was anger in Lancer's tone of voice.

Ilyasviel was taken aback by the way Lancer talked to her. "Huh? So you think this is Onii-chan's fault?" She seemed genuinely surprised at that affirmation.

"Well, he is right, you know." The woman who had just dragged herself from the jeep's wreckage made a ridiculous image, being smug while completely dirty. That did not keep her from continuing. "His connection with Rider was too badly formed for him to really transfer energy to her in the usual manner." She leaned on the now destroyed car.

Lancer snapped at her. "Who the hell cares about that, woman? We have a much bigger problem right now." _Weren't you the first to bring that up? _Must have been a reply at least one person thought up, however, he didn't give anyone the opportunity of saying it. "Right now, we don't really have two clearly defined sides. That makes fighting a very complicated proposition." He talked of it as if it was an unsolvable problem.

Archer had already stepped in front of his Master. "I can't say I disagree with you. So, what is your proposed solution?" He was cautious.

Lancer puffed his chest as if he was about to propose the perfect solution. "Under my authority as the mightiest among us, I say we engage in a diplomatic dialogue." He then started laughing heartily.

* * *

_This is not good. _The thought kept repeating inside Assassin's mind. Even if he was marginally faster than Saber, the difference was actually inexistent as he was carrying two people as opposed to only one. As the situation was, he found himself unable to lose Saber.

Be that as it may, at least he wasn't losing any ground, so with that in mind, he resolved to simply hurry back to Caster's Lair. Once there he expected that Caster's defenses would do something about their troublesome pursuer.

Everything seemed to be going well, and then, as they approached the bridge, Assassin felt something that chilled him to the bone. "Huh? What happened, Assassin? You're looking scary." Assassin mentally scolded himself, as he has made Shinji worry. Still, there was a chance that they could pass unhindered.

He tried reassuring his Master. "Don't worry, it might be nothing." He fervently prayed that it would be so. Thinking that it would give him a better chance, he climbed the upper part of the bridge, hoping to avoid what he was sure would be a huge obstacle. Everything seemed to be going well when…

"Hey there, it's Assassin, isn't it?" Lancer had just leaped a short distance in front of Assassin, obviously intending to obstruct him. "We're about to have a very important conversation, don't you think it would be quite rude of you to just walk away?" His smile was quite menacing.

Assassin let out a sigh and looked back. Saber had also stopped, possibly also unsure of the situation. He looked at Shinji, who just shrugged. It looked like they didn't have an option. "Why not? As long as you can guarantee my Master's safety, we will gladly talk." At the very least , this was going to get Saber off his back, somehow. "You also agree, don't you, King of Knights? I'd think that talking things out would suit you more." To his satisfaction, Saber's reaction was pretty much drop her jaw.

As they made their way to the ground, Assassin thought he heard someone mutter something. "Not that stupid thing again." It sounded like that.

* * *

They were all forming a circle, five pairs of Master and Summoner, a lone Servant and an unconscious girl that was with a pair. From Lancer's right: Shinji and Assassin, Carmen and Archer, Ilyasviel and Berserker, Shirou and Rider, Rin and Saber then back to Lancer. Almost everything single Servant of the War was together in a single place, there was a certain feeling of awe permeating the whole thing.

It took a lot of trouble from Lancer's part, but for a moment they were all quiet. Despite that, tensions were palpable as Shirou and Rin glared in Carmen's and Shinji's direction. As for Ilyasviel, she seemed to be fascinated by Shirou, while Carmen looked bored, ready to provoke anyone and Shinji looked nervous. Even if Berserker was back to human form, everyone, except for Ilyasviel seemed to have some attention reserved for him.

Lancer struck the ground with his lance's butt and boldly declared. "Now! Under my authority I declare open the first Dialogue of the Grail!"

"Uh, actually…" Saber looked uncomfortable.

"What is it, Saber, you wish to say something before we officially start this?"

She sighed and put a hand on her forehead, as if having a headache. "Never mind. Just tell us how you intend us to discuss things."

Lancer nodded. "Yes, it is worthy of me." He took a deep breath and then spoke in a loud, authoritative voice. "Starting with me and then to my left, I'd like every pair of Master and Servant to talk about their Grievances, what they intend to do with the Grail and declare anything that they feel the other Masters and Servants should know. No replies, leave that for after everyone has had their say. Is that agreeable?" He looked around, waiting for confirmation from the others.

Everyone nodded silently. What else could they do? It was quite the sensitive situation and the wrong move meant that many of them would not get through the night. At least for the moment, it seemed to be a better idea to talk things out.

**Lancer's Declaration.**

As all of you know, I am the Lancer Servant. I believe I do not boast that among those in this war, I have overall the best offense and defense. If any of you disagree, I guarantee that by the end of this war I will show the truth to any that bother duel me in a straight and fair manner.

Speaking of fairness, I will explain the absence of my Master. Right as I was summoned, it seems that my Master was attacked by some traitorous scum. While that attack was somehow stopped, it was enough that my master lost the hand containing the Command Spells and fell into a deep coma.

However, don't think of this as a handicap to me. Even with a diminished energy source, I am still mighty. Also, don't think getting rid of me through disposing her. I only fight better against that kind of coward.

Every night, from tomorrow on, from midnight to one in the morning I will take on any opponent, one-on-one at the entrance of the forest.

I have no ambitions to be realized by this so-called wish fulfilling device. I merely wish to prove through fact that even among the mighty, I am the mightiest. No king, no knight, no god, none shall defeat me, this I swear.

**Rin's and Saber's.**

I am Tohsaka Rin, Master of Saber. Normally I'd just say that since I have no business with any of you, I'd refuse to speak. However, the honesty of Lancer makes such an action problematic. At the very least, it feels like I would lose some of my pride as a Magus.

That would be quite important to me, as Matou Shinji, who is among us can attest to after attacking it so much. I will not let the slander that he has directed towards Tohsaka to stand! This is a warning to the others: Any who dares to hurt my family's pride will not get off lightly.

/

Even if my Master wishes for victory for its own sake, I have my own reasons for fighting this war. I am not keen to talk of them, however do not think that they are without weight. I will not tolerate anything or anyone who stand between me and the Grail. That is all.

**Shirou's and Rider's.**

I am Emiya Shirou. This is kind of awkward, since I can think of so many different things that I want to say, but I just can't decide where to start. First of all, I will talk about my objective, I guess.

Personally, I have no desire for the Grail, but for Rider, who has agreed to help me, I will fight for it. Even then, what I want the most is that this War cause as little harm as possible to those who are not directly involved. Know this, those who would harm people are my targets. This is directly tied to the second thing I want to say.

Shinji! You bastard. How much more must you provoke me to be satisfied? I don't know why you are going after Sakura, but know that right now I have no intention of letting you leave this place with her. And if she gets hurt somehow, don't think that you will escape unscathed.

Also, Archer's Master, don't think that I've forgotten about you. You claim to have quite the extensive knowledge of this War. Once we've all had our say, don't I don't have enough questions for you. And I will want clear answers.

I'd rather we just finish this by talking, but I am not naïve enough to think it can actually happen, so at least I'd like to be clear about everyone's intentions. If they are harmful to anyone in this city, don't think things will go well for you, this I swear.

/

…

**Ilyasviel's and Berserker's.**

Hi! I'm Ilyasviel von Einzbern, right now I'm playing along with this because it seems kind of fun, but if I wanted I could have Berserker crush all of you. Oh, except for Onii-chan here, I'd show him that I'm the best Master and protect him.

I'm not really after the Grail myself, but since Grandpa told I should have it, then I will just eventually crush everyone, but not tonight, since it'd just be no fun.

/

(Growl)

**Carmen's and Archer's.**

What can I say? I'm in this war pretty much for the heck of it. While I won't claim my life to have been a complete bore before all this. I have not met any person as interesting as any of you.

I must confess that fighting for the Grail with all of you is a pleasure. You see, the intrigue, the manipulation, the plans, and the wager of life, all of that is just so exhilarating to me.

Which is why I have absolutely no intention of letting my Servant get defeated any time soon, although I wonder myself what feelings await me if I manage to triumph over something as impressive as a hero. Therefore, I'm sorry for those who consider this as a "serious" War. Having fun, to me is serious business.

/

And that's it, I guess, my friends. If I were to be honest, I'm not yet quite sure of what I wish of the Grail, but it does sound like an interesting object to possess, no?

So meanwhile, I will just accompany my Master's whims, as I'm quite sure that it will lead me to the Grail.

**Shinji's and Assassin's.**

Wow this really feels like some sort of therapy session. Oh no comments of that nature yet? Sorry I guess. Fine, I will tell you all a little bit about me and a bonus story to boot, aren't I great?

Hello all, I am Matou Shinji, as shitty a Magus as one can be. You see, my family has been decaying for quite a while now. Every generation people had fewer and fewer Magic Circuits, to the point where we could barely use magic anymore.

It was in such an environment that a moderately talented Magus was born. Of course, I am not talking about myself, since I have absolutely no talent. Anyway…

This man's name was Kariya, my uncle. Now, you see, Kariya hated that decaying family, not without reason. You see, over the years, as their desperation grew, my family started using more and more absurd methods to have a useful heir, me being just the latest example, but I will get on that later. So you see, that coupled with the Matou already disgusting magic which involves insects… Wait can I really call those insects? Whatever.

So eventually, he just decided to refuse his position as heir and left the family, he would live a mildly fulfilling life at least, or so he hoped. But things just don't go that easy, right?

It's the pathetic Matou house we are talking about, right? So you see, the patriarch had the guts to go up to a fool with two talented daughters and asked if he could spare a talented heir. I don't even need to say what happened, right? It's that kind of story.

Life became hell for the girl. She was forced to endure all kinds of horrors to conform to what the Matou wanted and needed. This is where we come back to Kariya.

Ah, the prodigal son returns home! Apparently, the man who abandoned his family cared for the little girl. So he agreed to become a tool, if only his success would bring freedom to the little girl. However, he failed, even if in a spectacular fashion. After all, he was merely a moderately talented Magus, what could he have hoped to accomplish? Not much, really.

And this is where I come in! In his misguided attempts to preserve my sister as a tool for a future War, I was made to have implanted in me artificial Magic Circuits. Now, I do admit that these hurt as hell, but damn do they work.

Now, I do admit that I through a phase of believing that my family was something special. Yes, I did hurt my little sister out of belief that she was stealing my place as the heir. But that is all over now. This here, look at me putting my thumb and index finger together, do you know what this symbolizes? The number of fucks I give about my family.

I fight for myself right now. And promise, I will beat everyone single one of you just to spite my grandfather. When the family finally achieves glory, it will be by someone who rejects it completely, ironic, no? Also, for you, Emiya, I am better than you at everything, I will show you that.

/

I have nothing to add to what my Master has said. My wishes and hopes are insignificant. If he has listened to even one half of the wisdom I tried to pass on to him, I will be satisfied.

* * *

Lancer was smiling satisfied. "Ha! So you all can talk like civilized people after all. It's a pity that Caster wasn't present though, it would have made this complete." The awkward silence that followed signified the disagreement on the point. "Anyway." He looked at the person who was still glaring. "Is there something you wish to say, Emiya Shirou?"

Shirou opened his mouth, but Shinji started speaking before him. "I think I have the right of first reply, as I was the last one to speak, is that alright with you, Lancer?" He had abandoned his mocking tone, it seemed like he was serious about something.

Lancer nodded. "Of course, that would be only right, wouldn't it, Emiya Shirou?" Shirou remained silent, which Lancer took as approval. "Speak your mind, Matou Shinji."

"Of course, you oppose my taking back Sakura. However, there are quite a few holes in the logic that leads you to do so." His tone was explanatory.

"Oh, is that so?" Shirou was defiant.

Lancer was opposed to interruptions "Silence!"

Shinji, however, didn't seem to mind it. "Oh there's no need for that, I rather prefer to do a debate, it allows me to more thoroughly destroy his arguments." He had returned to his condescending demeanor.

Ilyasviel was not satisfied. "I don't like this, if you're going to just attack Onii-chan, I won't have any mercy." Berserker started growling menacingly.

Carmen intervened. "Now, now, isn't it fine? They both have the same opportunity of speaking. Although you did state you believe that Berserker can take all other Servants by himself, I wonder that is the truth? We might find this out if you start fighting because of stupid things like that."

"Oh, you're saying that defending Onii-chan is stupid?" The mood grew tenser by the second. "Ah, Onii-chan?"

It was all disarmed by a pat on the head. Shirou was still unsure about that girl with white hair, but deep inside he just could not think of her as evil or anything. "Don't worry, I will listen to what he has to say. Also, I did say my name, why don't you call me by it?"

The little girl beamed. "Okay, Shirou!" It was strange, how wildly her mood could swing.

He turned to Shinji, who seemed to be waiting for a battle to resume. "Convince me, why should I let you take Sakura? Considering all that you've done up until now." He wasn't in a mood to believe anything that Shinji said, but in that situation he had no choice but to listen.

Shinji was back to a serious demeanor. "Listen closely. We both know that Sakura has a problem. I have a lead to solve it, you do not. Besides, I am her brother, what are you to her? A Senpai in her school? I think everyone here knows with whom lies the responsibility to help her."

Shirou was in shock. "What? Now you are going to use the prerogative of a brother?" After what he had done?

Lancer was listening intently. "He does have a good argument, Emiya Shirou. I'm sorry, but I can't condone you taking his sister, unless you were something like husband and wife."

"What?"

"That's what I thought. I stand by my decision, after this is over, Matou Shinji has the right to leave untouched with his sister."

Ilyasviel was acting disinterested. "I don't see why Shirou has to help that girl…"

Carmen seemed to be having fun with Shirou's reactions. "I find Lancer's reasoning to be good, I guess I might as well lend my force to his decision." She smiled. "Besides, with things turning out like this, you won't have business with me anymore, right? Please, just look for me when you need me for yourself."

Rin was completely mute, Saber was following her Master.

"Damn it! Fine, I will leave things like this for now. But I still don't trust you."

Shinji replied Shirou's hateful stare with a smile. "I don't expect you to ever do that"

After that, they all silently started to disperse in the night. Almost miraculously, no great battle of multiple powerful beings occurred then.


End file.
